Alcohol-Related Cancer Deaths Have More Than Doubled in the United States Over the Past 30 Years, Study Suggests

Cancer deaths in the United States likely caused by alcohol appear to have doubled over the past three decades. Researchers who examined a gargantuan dataset estimate that about 23,126 people died of alcohol-attributable cancer in 2023—a huge jump from 11,361 deaths in 1990. The upward trend persisted even though the country’s overall cancer mortality rate dropped significantly over the same period.

The findings, published in the journal Lancet Regional Health—Americas on September 2, are “quite concerning,” says study co-author Chinmay Jani, a hematologist-oncologist at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami, to MedPage Today’s Mike Bassett. They highlight the need for further research on the relationship between alcohol and cancer, as well as for updated public health messaging around alcohol consumption. Alcohol contributes to cancer in several ways.

For instance, when the body metabolizes alcohol, it forms acetaldehyde, a carcinogen that causes harmful DNA damage. Usually, your cells break down acetaldehyde before it can do any harm thanks to special enzymes and other molecular mechanisms, but these safeguards can get overwhelmed. And some people have genetic mutations that don’t allow their bodies to make certain defensive proteins.

What’s more, alcohol can increase the level of hormones like estrogen, which plays a role in the development of breast cancer. These beverages also make it easier for the cells in the mouth to absorb carcinogens. That means if a person both smokes and regularly drinks, they are more susceptible to the carcinogens from tobacco.

In the new study, Jani and colleagues looked at data on ten types of cancer from the Global Burden of Disease study, a massive effort to measure health challenges around the world. It includes information on 204 countries and territories, 371 diseases and injuries, and 88 risk factors for illness and death. Analyses revealed that the leading causes of alcohol-attributable cancer deaths in 2023 were colorectal, esophageal, liver and breast cancers.

The results differed based on age and sex. In men ages 55 and up—the group most affected by cancer deaths linked to alcohol—the leading killer was liver cancer, followed by esophageal and colorectal cancers. In men ages 20 to 54, most died from colorectal cancer.