We have heard a considerable amount about the health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption but very little about its negative impact. Now a link between alcohol consumption and the risk of head and neck cancers has been clarified.
A link between alcohol consumption and the risk of head and neck cancers has been
clarified by a team of researchers working at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). The team reports that people, who stop drinking, significantly reduce their cancer risk.
Dr. Jurgen Rehm, the CAMH Principal Investigator said that existing research has consistently shown a relationship between alcohol consumption and an increased risk for cancer of the esophagus, larynx and oral cavity.
The CAMH research team analyzed epidemiological literature from 1966 to 2006 to further investigate this association. The results of the teams’ work will be published in the September issue of the International Journal of Cancer.
The study shows that:
• The risk of esophageal cancer nearly doubled in the first two years following alcohol cessation, a sharp increase that may be due to the fact that some people only stop drinking when they are already experiencing disease symptoms. However, risk then decreased rapidly and significantly after longer periods of abstention.
• Risk of head and neck cancer only reduced significantly after 10 years of cessation.
• After more than 20 years of alcohol cessation, the risks for both cancers were similar to those seen in people who never drank alcohol.
Said Dr. Rehm, ”Alcohol cessation has very similar effects on risk for head and neck cancers as smoking cessation has on lung cancer. It takes about two decades before the risk is back to the risk of those who were never drinkers or never smokers.”
In Ontario, 60% of the adult population consumes alcohol on at least a monthly basis. Alcohol abuse costs taxpayers, both directly and indirectly, $5.3 billion in Ontario alone, second only to the social burden of tobacco. The cardioprotective effects of alcohol are included in this calculation.
More research is needed on the effects of alcohol cessation on other types of cancer ,especially breast, liver and colorectal cancers, and on the effects of alcohol type, drinking patterns, and the joint effects of smoking and alcohol cessation on the risk of cancer, according to Dr. Rehm
