“That study further established that no level of alcohol consumption is safe.”
February, 2022
A new large-scale genetic study tracking 150,000 Chinese participants for 11 years establishes that “alcohol directly causes cancer.”
The study was published in end-January on the International Journal of Cancer. Researchers found that those who had two genetic variants that reduce alcohol tolerance consumed less alcohol, and as a result had reduced risk of cancer compared to those who did not have the genetic variants and consumed more alcohol.
That study further established that no level of alcohol consumption is safe. While most cancers were caused by heavy (47%) or high-risk (39%) alcohol use, even low-risk alcohol use led to cancer 14% of the time.
Consistent with previous studies, the new research found that among the participants those with the genetic variants for low alcohol tolerance consumed less alcohol, compared with those who did not have the variant
In particular cancers previously known to be caused by alcohol, such as head and neck, oesophagus, colon, rectum and liver, were detected in high rates in those using more alcohol.
