Even mild to moderate drinking poses risk of developing the disease, WHO researchers say.The findings are part of a modelling study from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) published in the journal Lancet Oncology.
The global study estimates the effect of alcohol consumption on cancers worldwide, suggesting four per cent of newly diagnosed cases in 2020 may have been associated with drinking alcohol.
The article Alcohol Consumption Linked to Thousands of Cancer Cases in 2020, written by Melissa Couto Zuber of The Canadian Press, outlines disturbing findings.
The study found most alcohol-related cancer cases worldwide were associated with heavier drinking patterns, but researchers estimated that light to moderate drinking – around one to two drinks per day – contributed to more than 100,000 cases in 2020, or one in seven.
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Researchers looked at epidemiology studies from large international cohorts – including Canada, Europe, China and Australia.
What interventions should be used?