A drop of alcohol in The Lancet can also cause cancer!

The concepts of "drinking in moderation is good for health" and "drinking red wine to soften blood vessels" have been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people

A glass of red wine every day has become a symbol of health and high quality of life

In fact, the academic world's views on alcohol have gone through different stages

But with the deepening of research, this view was gradually discarded

This year's "Journal of the American Medical Association" also published an article "Alcohol can cause arrhythmia

They also studied other life>

At the same time, it has been confirmed that even a small amount of alcohol can increase the occurrence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events

As another major killer of health, the relationship between cancer and alcohol has also attracted the attention of academia

So far, alcohol has been confirmed to have a causal relationship with the upper respiratory tract, digestive tract (mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus), colon cancer, rectal cancer, liver cancer and breast cancer

In order to further clarify the relationship between drinking and cancer, the international research team recently published the latest research results in the sub-journal of the Lancet, with particular emphasis on the fact that drinking will increase the burden of global cancer, and it exists among races.

This study uses the 2020 Global Cancer Network database of the International Agency for Research on Cancer to conduct statistical analysis based on estimates of cancer incidence worldwide and data on alcohol consumption patterns, and to classify and evaluate different types of alcohol by gender, cancer type and country

In this large-scale population study, intake was divided into three types: light drinking (less than 20 grams per day on average), moderate drinking (20-60 grams per day on average), and heavy drinking (more than 20 grams per day on average).

The research team believes that of the global new cancer cases in 2020, an estimated 740,000 cases can be attributed to drinking

Among men, there are nearly 570,000 cases of cancer caused by alcohol, and among women, the number is about 170,000

Among them, liver cancer, esophageal cancer and breast cancer are the cancers most affected by alcohol

The research team found that after age standardization, the global incidence of cancer caused by alcohol is 8.
4 per 100,000 people
.

Men are more susceptible to the effects of alcohol than women.
The incidence of cancer caused by alcohol is 13.
4 per 100,000 people, which is significantly higher than 3.
7 per 100,000 people
.

By calculating the population attribution score, they found that if the alcohol consumption is reduced to 0, the incidence of esophageal cancer, throat cancer, and lip cancer will be the greatest improvement, respectively 31.
6%, 22.
0% and 20.
2%
.

This improvement is more pronounced in men
.
For example, 39.
2% of esophageal cancers in men can be attributed to alcohol, while 14.
3% in women
.
 

Then, the researchers found that East Asia was most affected by alcohol
.
For example, China and Mongolia have the highest proportion of new cancers caused by cancers caused by drinking
.

In terms of gender, East Asian men seem to be more likely to be affected by alcohol and develop tumors, while East Asian women are less affected, but still rank higher in the world
.

Further statistics on the incidence rates in different regions show that East Asian men are susceptible to cancer after drinking alcohol
.
The incidence of alcoholic cancer is 21.
5 per 100,000 people, second only to Central and Eastern Europe at 23.
1 per 100,000 people
.

The three regions with the highest incidence of female alcoholic cancers are Australia, Western Europe and Northern Europe, with incidence rates of 10.
2/10 thousand, 9.
4/10 thousand and 99.
1/10 thousand, respectively
.

Another interesting finding is that in Australia, Western Europe and Northern Europe, the incidence of alcoholic cancer is roughly similar for men and women, but in Asia, especially East Asia and Southeast Asia, the incidence of men is almost 7 times that of women
.
This shows that the dangers of drinking among men in East Asia require special attention
.

The research team also confirmed that a small amount of alcohol can also induce tumors
.
In all cancer cases caused by drinking, about 14% of patients have an average daily alcohol intake of less than 20 grams, which is a small amount of alcohol
.
The proportion of tumors caused by moderate and heavy drinking was higher, 39.
4% and 46.
7%, respectively
.
 

In view of this, the author pointed out that cancer warnings can be added to alcohol labels, similar to warnings on tobacco products, which can increase public awareness of the causal relationship between alcohol and cancer, thereby reducing the consumption of alcoholic beverages
.

At this stage, total prohibition of alcohol is not in line with China's national conditions, and it is also contrary to our cultural traditions
.
However, according to the World Health Organization, we can gradually reduce the supply of alcohol and increase the price through taxation, so as to achieve the purpose of reasonable control of alcohol
.

Harriet Rumgay, et al.
Global burden of cancer in 2020 attributable to alcohol consumption: a population-based study.
Lancet Oncol, 2021, 22(8): 1071-1080.
doi: 10.
1016/S1470-2045(21)00279-5 .

2.
Gregory M Marcus, et al.
Individualized Studies of Triggers of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation: The I-STOP-AFib Randomized Clinical Trial.
JAMA Cardiol, 2021, e215010.
doi: 10.
1001/jamacardio.
2021.
5010.