Even One Alcoholic Drink a Day Elevates the Risk of Cancer
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Even One Alcoholic Drink a Day Elevates the Risk of Cancer
Jim Windell
Breaking down the Surgeon General’s advisory on alcohol, Nikki Crowley, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biology, Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacology, Penn State, writing online in The Conversation says that the association between alcohol and cancer is nothing new.
“As a neuroscientist specializing in the neurobiological effects of alcohol use and binge drinking,” Crowley writes recently, “I am glad to see the call to action for reducing alcohol consumption in the United States. With so few people aware of the links between alcohol consumption and various cancers – and the fact that the vast majority of people consume some alcohol every week – it’s easy to see why the surgeon general is calling for greater awareness.”
Crowley points out that the numbers in the Surgeon General’s report don’t only apply to heavy alcohol drinkers. While less alcohol is better, 25% of the cancer cases in the seven types of cancer that can come about because of drinking occur in people classified as moderate drinkers. These are people who consume, on average, fewer than two drinks per day. “This means that anyone regularly drinking alcohol, even small amounts, should know about and understand the risks,” Crowley says.
What many people may not know is that the relationship between alcohol and cancer has been clear to scientists for decades. In fact, it was highlighted in a 2016 surgeon general’s report as well, which focused on addiction more broadly. What the new report from the surgeon general does is outline the different types of evidence supporting this link.
One type of evidence is through epidemiological science, which tries to understand patterns and relationships between the rates of cancer and how much alcohol people consume. Another is through experimental animal studies, which allow scientists to understand the mechanism and causality of these connections as they apply to specific cancers. Together, studies conclusively show a link and pathway between alcohol consumption and cancer.
The surgeon general’s report discusses four key pathways through which alcohol can cause cancer. These largely focus on the ways alcohol can negatively affect your DNA, the building blocks of cells. While the healthy cells in your body divide all the time, their abnormal growth can be driven by aberrant factors like alcohol-induced DNA damage.
This DNA damage leads to uncontrollable growth of tissue instead of healthy, normal tissue growth. This abnormal tissue growth is cancer. The four pathways through which alcohol can lead to cancer highlighted in the report are:
- The body naturally breaks alcohol down into acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde can damage and break DNA, leading to chromosomal rearrangements and tumors. This link is so strong that acetaldehyde has been classified as a carcinogen since 1999.
- Alcohol creates reactive oxygen species. Reactive oxygen species, sometimes called “free radicals,” are unstable molecules that contain oxygen and can further damage DNA, proteins and fats.
- Alcohol can influence hormones, like estrogen. Alcohol can raise the amount of estrogen in the body, which may explain its link to breast cancer. This increased estrogen can influence breast tissue by causing – no surprise here! – DNA damage.
- Alcohol is a solvent, which means other things can dissolve in it. This makes it easier for carcinogens from other sources – like cigarettes and e-vapes – to be absorbed by the body when the two are consumed together.
Simply put by Crowley, the more you drink alcohol, the more you are at risk.
So, is any amount of alcohol safe?
Crowley notes that this is a big question on a lot of people’s minds right now – given the recent advisory from the surgeon general. The answer, she writes, will likely disappoint most people because the amount is “probably none.”
Crowley’s reasoning is sound: “Alcohol use remains one of the most preventable risk factors for cancer. And even moderate alcohol consumption – one or fewer drinks per day – may elevate cancer risk for some types, such as breast, throat and mouth cancers."
However, Crowley concludes, none of the studies can tell you what your individual risk for cancer is. The relationship between alcohol and cancer can be influenced by your genes, such as those that control the enzymes that metabolize alcohol, and other lifestyle factors that influence the rates of cancer broadly, like diet and inflammation.
“All of these lifestyle and personal health factors can influence how risky alcohol consumption is for you,” she says.
To read the original article on which this blog is based, find it with this reference:
Crowley, N. (2025). Even 1 drink a day elevates your cancer risk. Retrieved from: