Drinking even small amounts of alcohol could slightly raise the risk of some cancers in women, researchers warn today.
Men who smoke may also be at a raised risk.
Heavy alcohol consumption has been linked to a raised risk of several cancers, but the link between light to moderate drinking and cancer risk is less clear.
Because light to moderate drinking is so prevalent, Professor Edward Giovannucci of Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, USA, and his team investigated further.
They used figures from two long term studies in the US, including 88,084 women and 47,881 men. Both male and female light to moderate drinkers had slightly higher risks of cancer overall than non-drinkers. However, for women, even an alcohol consumption of one standard drink (15g alcohol) per day was associated with a 13% increased risk of alcohol related cancers. This pattern was mostly accounted for by breast cancer.
A similarly increased risk of cancers with an established link to alcohol consumption – cancer of the colorectum, female breast, oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, liver, and oesophagus – was seen for light to moderate male drinkers who were current or previous smokers.
Details are published The BMJ alongside an editorial by Dr Jurgen Rehm of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada.
Dr Rehm says that more research is needed on this risk and on the interaction between smoking and drinking on risk of cancer. He believes that people with a family history of cancer "should consider reducing their intake to below recommended limits or even abstaining altogether, given the now well established link between moderate drinking and alcohol-related cancers."
The findings were welcomed by the Alcohol Health Alliance.
Chair Professor Sir Ian Gilmore said: "This research confirms the results of previous studies showing that there is no such thing as a safe level of drinking when it comes to the risk of cancer."
Cao, Y. et al. Light to moderate intake of alcohol, drinking patterns, and risk of cancer: results from two prospective US cohort studies. BMJ 19 August 2015 doi: 10.1136/bmj.h4238 [abstract]
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