Alcohol consumption is a rooted and widely accepted practice in many cultures around the world – including Brazil. Often associated with parties, celebrations and even everyday coexistence, drinking alcohol is part of the habit of many people. What few people know is that the practice is associated with at least seven types of cancer: breast, mouth, larynx, throat, esophagus, liver and colon.
In early 2025, the US Department of Human Health and Human Resources published the report Alcohol and Cancer Riskin which it points out that alcohol is the third preventable cause of cancer, after tobacco and obesity, contributing to about 100,000 cases and 20,000 deaths each year in that country. In addition to citing the seven types of cancer directly associated with drink consumption, the document points out that, globally, at least 741,000 cases of the disease were related to alcohol in 2020.
“The report reinforces and updates scientific evidence, re -drawing attention to the importance of the theme. It brings more information about risk proportional to consumption, biological mechanisms and talks about the absence of safe levels. Alcohol has been among us and has been part of our culture for thousands of years, always associated with joy and celebration. The problem is that most people use as a habit of life and still have no idea how harmful it can be, ”says Ana Paula Garcia Cardoso, clinical oncologist at Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein.
According to the US Disease Control and Prevention Center (CDC), more than half of US adults drink alcohol, 17% drink compulsively and 6% drink a lot. The numbers are very similar to those in Brazil, where 44.6% of the adult population reports having the habit of drinking; being 18.3% abusive (five or more doses a week for men and four or more doses a week for women). The data are from the Ministry of Health based on Vigitel, a risk -risk surveillance system and protection for noncommunicable chronic diseases, which annually monitors the population’s health situation.
And it is not necessary to be an alcoholic to have the risk of cancer increased. “Even I think this is what distances people from reality. There is no safe alcohol consumption and it is not because the person makes controlled use of the drink that they will be free from the risk of cancer, ”says the expert. The danger applies to all kinds of alcohol: wine, distillates and even beer.
Mechanisms of action
Establishing the causal relationship between the risk factor and a health result is complex, but several studies have shown that there are four biological mechanisms that lead alcohol to increase the risk of cancer.
The first explanation is that the substance can damage DNA. This is because alcohol decomposes into acetaldehyde, a metabolite that causes cancer by binding to DNA to damage it. A cell can start to grow uncontrollably and create a possibly evil tumor.
Our immune system is able to protect us against various damage at the same time, such as cigarette, alcohol, pollution, ultra -processed, obesity and physical inactivity. However, there comes a time that it can fail. “It’s as if someone knocked on the door several times, but his immune system is surveillance and not let him in. But some cells become more susceptible and fragile by these aggressors, until one day the immune system can no longer defend itself and the door opens, ”illustrates Cardoso.
When the “door” opens, a neoplastic process begins, which is nothing more than the disordered multiplication of a mutation cell. “The so -called carcinogenesis works this way: it has a triggering factor, a mistake in the defense system and there it proliferates,” explains the oncologist.
The second mechanism of action of alcohol is that it generates reactive oxygen species, which increase inflammation in the body through a process called oxidative stress. The third is that the substance alters hormone levels (especially estrogen), which can expose women to increased hormone and, consequently, to a higher risk of breast cancer.
Finally, the fourth form of action is that some organs (such as liver, mouth and intestine) undergo direct effects of alcohol. In addition, other carcinogens may be associated with alcohol and facilitate their absorption through the body. “The carcinogenic effect of alcohol is invisible, but it is multifactorial. It causes DNA damage and instability, which make the person more susceptible to other factors. For example, alcohol susceptibility increases the risk that cigarettes is already causing, ”says Cardoso.
Is there a safe dose?
According to World Health Organization (WHO)There is no safe alcohol consumption – any amount can increase the risk of cancer. An important factor is the total amount of alcohol consumed consistently over time. According to the US report, for certain types of cancer, such as breast, mouth and throat, evidence shows that this risk may begin to increase around one or less doses a day.
According to a study cited in the US report, the absolute risk of a woman developing any lifelong alcohol cancer increases from 16.5% for those who consume less than one drink dose per week to 19% for those who eat a daily dose; and to 21.8% among those that consume two doses per day, on average. This corresponds to five more women more in 100 with the potential to develop the disease. “Alcohol is a damage. The larger the quantity, worse, ”warns Einstein’s oncologist.
In Brazil, the most commonly used dose reference is the one released by the Health and Alcohol Information Center (CISA), which considers that a standard alcohol dose corresponding to 14 g of pure ethanol – this is equivalent to about 350 ml Beer (one can), 150 ml of wine or 45 ml of spirits (such as vodka, cachaça or whiskey). WHO, however, uses as a standard dose equivalent to 10 g alcohol and recommends a maximum of two doses a day for men and one per day for women as long as they refrain from drinking at least twice a week.
Ignorance about the dangers
Despite evidence demonstrating the effect of alcohol consumption on cancer risk, the American report points out that there is a large gap in the public understanding of this association. A survey conducted in 2019 concluded that 45% of US recognize alcohol as a risk factor for cancer. The index is much lower than the 91% who know the cancer risk of radiation and the 89% who know about the relationship with tobacco, according to the same work.
Another investigation, this made with about 1,700 adults and released in November 2024 by Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC)It shows that less than half of Americans (40%) know that drinking alcohol regularly increases the risk of developing cancer later. Another 40% were unsure if this is true and 20% reported inaccurate beliefs – that it would have no effect or that would reduce the chance of developing cancer.
There is evidence that in the long run, stop drinking or reducing alcohol consumption directly reduces the likelihood of mouth and esophagus cancers. According to Alcohol and Cancer Risk report, more research is needed to determine whether this risk also decreases to other cancers – or even if you can reach the observed level in people who don’t usually drink.
Beverage labeling
In the recent US document, a suggested change is the updating of alcoholic beverages to include a warning about the increased risk of cancer. Health warning labels are well -established and effective approaches to increasing awareness and promoting behavioral changes.
In Cardoso’s evaluation, Brazil faces the same problem of lack of information on alcohol consumption risks, and including alerts on labels can be a good way, as happened with the cigarette. “Everyone knows that smoking can cause cancer. There is a warning in the cigarette pack, but that doesn’t happen with alcohol. In addition, there is a denial of the people themselves who want to preserve the habit, especially for the social aspect associated with the consumption of the drink, ”says the doctor.
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This content was originally published in The Invisible Risk: Understand why drinking alcohol can cause cancer on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
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