New study: alcohol consumption and the risk of colon cancer – new findings

A new study, which lasted about 20 years and included over 88 thousand adults from the United States, shows that alcohol consumption increases the risk of colon and rectal cancer. The findings were published in the journal “Cancer”.

Alcohol drinking patterns and their effect on the risk of colon cancer

The researchers wanted to check how alcohol drinking patterns throughout life affect the risk of developing colon cancer or precancerous polyps. The study participants reported their consumption of beer, wine and spirits in four different age periods, from age 18 to age 55 and older.

According to the study’s definitions, heavy drinking was defined as more than 14 alcoholic drinks per week, while moderate drinking was defined as consumption of 7 to 14 drinks per week. The researchers compared heavy drinkers, moderate drinkers and light drinkers or those who drank in the past and stopped.

Heavy drinking: significant increase in cancer risk

The data show that consistent heavy drinking throughout adulthood is associated with a significant increase in the risk of colon cancer. The analysis of the data revealed that heavy drinking throughout life was associated with a 25% increase in the total risk of colon cancer, and almost doubling the risk of ileal cancer.

In contrast, moderate drinking throughout life was found to be associated with a lower risk compared to heavy drinking, but the researchers emphasize that even patterns that are not extreme may affect the risk in the long term.

Stopping drinking: reducing the risk of precancerous polyps

When examining precancerous polyps, no distinct pattern was found between current high alcohol consumption and the risk of their formation. However, among participants who stopped drinking alcohol in the past, a lower risk of the appearance of non-advanced adenomas was found.

The researchers note that based on the data, high and continuous consumption of alcohol throughout adult life may increase the risk of colon cancer, while stopping drinking may reduce the risk of precancerous lesions.

Many studies in recent years indicate that drinking alcohol, even at levels that are considered moderate, may have a negative effect on many systems in the body, including increasing inflammatory processes and harming detoxification mechanisms, which leads to an increase in the risk of several types of cancer.