Association between changes in alcohol consumption and cancer risk  

Association between changes in alcohol consumption and cancer risk
How changes in drinking behaviour increase or decrease the incidence of cancer is not well understood. A study investigated the association between the reduction, cessation, or increase of alcohol consumption and the development of alcohol-related cancers and all cancers.
The population-based cohort study analysed adult beneficiaries in the Korean National Health Insurance Service. Participants (aged ≥40 years) included those who underwent a national health screening in both 2009 and 2011 and had available data on their drinking status. Alcohol consumption level, which was self-reported by participants in health screening questionnaires, was categorised into none (0 g/d), mild (<15 g/d), moderate (15-29.9 g/d), and heavy (≥30 g/d) drinking. Based on changes in alcohol consumption level from 2009 to 2011, participants were categorised into the following groups: nondrinker, sustainer, increaser, quitter, and reducer.
The primary outcome was newly diagnosed alcohol-related cancers (including cancers of the head and neck, esophagus, colorectum, liver, larynx, and female breast), and the secondary outcome was all newly diagnosed cancers (except for thyroid cancer).
Among the 4 513 746 participants (mean [SD] age, 53.6 [9.6] years; 51.5% men), the incidence rate of cancer was 7.7 per 1,000 person-years during a median (IQR) follow-up of 6.4 (6.1-6.6) years.
Compared with the sustainer groups at each drinking level, the increaser groups had a higher risk of alcohol-related cancers and all cancers. The increased alcohol-related cancer incidence was associated with dose; those who changed from nondrinking to mild (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.03; 95% CI, 1.00-1.06), moderate (aHR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.02-1.18), or heavy (aHR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.23-1.45) drinking levels had an associated higher risk than those who did not drink. Those with mild drinking levels who quit drinking had a lower risk of alcohol-related cancer (aHR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.92-0.99) than those who sustained their drinking levels. Those with moderate (aHR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.03-1.12) or heavy (aHR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.02-1.12) drinking levels who quit drinking had a higher all cancer incidence than those who sustained their levels, but when quitting was sustained, this increase in risk disappeared. Compared with sustained heavy drinking, reduced heavy drinking levels to moderate levels (alcohol-related cancer: aHR, 0.91 [95% CI, 0.86-0.97]; all cancers: aHR, 0.96 [95% CI, 0.92-0.99]) or mild levels (alcohol-related cancer: aHR, 0.92 [95% CI, 0.86-0.98]; all cancers: aHR, 0.92 [95% CI, 0.89-0.96]) were associated with decreased cancer risk.
Results of this study showed that increased alcohol consumption was associated with higher risks for alcohol-related and all cancers, whereas sustained levels of moderate drinking, quitting and reduced drinking were associated with lower risks of alcohol-related and all cancers.
Source: Yoo JE, Han K, Shin DW, et al. Association Between Changes in Alcohol Consumption and Cancer Risk. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(8):e2228544. doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.28544