If you want to limit your risk for getting cancer, new research suggests you might want to curb your happy hour pours.
It turns out that any kind of alcohol consumption is linked to a greater risk of getting several types of cancer, according to a statement from the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Such cancers include breast, colon, esophagus and head and neck. The statement was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
ASCO points out 5 to 6 percent of new cancers and cancer deaths around the world are directly due to alcohol in 2012, citing a recent study. But according to the ASCO’s National Cancer Opinion Survey, 70 percent of Americans don’t consider drinking alcohol a risk factor for getting cancer. Harris Poll conducted the survey of 4,016 U.S. adults 18 years old and older online from July 10 to 18.
The medical field has long been aware that alcohol causes cancer, according to ABC News‘ chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton.
“The good news is that, just like people wear sunscreen to limit their risk of skin cancer, limiting alcohol intake is one more thing people can do to reduce their overall risk of developing cancer,” Dr. Noelle K. LoConte, lead author of the statement and an associate professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin, said in a news release.
The statement authors recommended several policy changes that could be made to limit people’s alcohol intake, including raising alcohol taxes and prices, making alcohol control strategies a part of cancer control plans and restricting alcohol advertising to kids.
They also say the “the most compelling and urgent research need” oncologists should pursue when thinking about alcohol is better defining the effects of alcohol consumption on cancer outcomes and during cancer treatments like chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.
In the U.S., a typical drink is either 12 ounces of beer, 8 ounces of malt liquor or 5 ounces of wine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For women, 4 or more drinks at one time is considered binge drinking compared to 5 for men; heavy drinking is 8 or more drinks every week for women and 15 or more for men.
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Report: Just A Small Amount of Alcohol Linked to Greater Cancer Risk originally appeared on usnews.com
