It is estimated that in 2020, there were 6.3 million cases and 3.3 million deaths globally of mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophageal, colon, rectum, liver, and breast cancer. These cancers have causal links to alcohol consumption. However, patterns of alcohol use continue to change over time across the world. With changes in alcohol consumption and more recent cancer incidence data, new estimates of the alcohol-attributable burden of cancer are needed.
Researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer conducted a new study to provide updated global, regional, and national estimates of alcohol-attributable cancer burden in 2020 to increase awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer (Rumgay H, et al. Lancet Oncol. 2021;22:1071-1080).
In the population-based study, researchers established levels of alcohol intake per person per country for 2010 (assuming a 10-year latency period between alcohol consumption and cancer diagnosis) then combined them with estimated new cancer cases in 2020. They also calculated the contribution of moderate (<20 g/day), risky (20-60 g/day), and heavy (>60 g/day) drinking to the total alcohol-attributable cancer burden, as well as the contribution by 10-g/day increment (up to a maximum of 150 g).
Globally, an estimated 4.1% (741,300) of all new cases of cancer in 2020 were attributable to alcohol consumption. Cancer of the esophagus (189,700), liver (154,700), and breast (98,300) accounted for the highest number of new cases. The researchers also found that men represented 76.7% (568,700) of alcohol-associated cancer cases versus women, who accounted for 23.3% (172,600) of cases.
At the country level, the United States had 3.0% (52,700) of cancer cases linked to alcohol, with China at 6.2% (282,300), India at 4.7% (62,100), France at 4.7% (20,000), United Kingdom at 4.1% (16,800), Germany at 4.0% (21,500), and Brazil at 3.7% (20,500).
Risky and heavy drinking showed the highest proportion of cases at 39.4% (291,800) and 46.7% (346,400), respectively. Moderate drinking was estimated at 13.9% (103,100) of the total of alcohol-caused cases. In North America, total alcohol-attributed cases were 42.4% (25,300) for heavy drinking, 41.6% (24,800) for risky drinking, and 16.0% (9500) for moderate drinking.
“With increases in alcohol consumption predicted until at least 2030 in several world regions, action must be taken to reduce the avoidable burden of cancer attributable to alcohol,” concluded the researchers.