Summary: There is a strong relationship between alcohol and specific cancers such as esophageal cancer and head and neck cancer. At least three quarters of people who have a mouth and throat cancer consume alcohol frequently. People who both drink alcohol and smoke have a much higher risk of developing head and neck cancer than people who use only tobacco alone . Alcohol may be the more important of the two habits that cause head and neck cancers. Half of all those with esophageal cancer consume excessive alcohol. People who drink alcohol frequently are 6 times more likely to develop one of these cancers. Drinking “large” amounts of alcohol (more than one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men) clearly increases the risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and larynx. “Large” means different things to health care professionals such as doctors and nurses than it does to the average person. Alcohol use is less strongly associated with other cancers but there is little doubt it contributes to the risk to get some other cancers. For example, for breast cancer and for cancers that start in the liver, alcohol is part of the cause of these cancers in some people. For breast cancer which accounts for 38% of all cancers in women, even a small increase in breast cancer associated with alcohol is very important. More than ¼ of a million women were studied by one group and even one drink/day was associated with a 10% increased risk. At 3 drinks per day, the risk appears to be 20% higher than non-drinking women. Researchers reported in April 2011 that as many as 10% of all cancers in the United States are related to drinking this much or more. There is some material that suggests one drink a day may be helpful for your heart and even that it may decrease the risk of being senile. No studies exist to say more alcohol increases these effects and even these effects need more study. Some experts say there is no safe level of alcohol.
