For many people, the cancer risks tied to alcohol begin and end with the liver. However, a new U.S. analysis of cancer deaths suggests the picture is much more complicated, especially for adults under 55.
Here's what to know
Using data from 1990 through 2023, researchers with the University of Miami's cancer center studied cancer risks in younger adults.
They found that the number of U.S. cancer deaths attributed to alcohol (in people aged 20 to 54) nearly doubled between the beginning and the end of the period, according to Earth.com. In the researchers' estimates, alcohol-related cancer deaths increased from 11,361 in 1990 to 23,126 in 2023. Men accounted for 17,477 of these deaths in 2023.
The analysis also showed that liver cancer is not the biggest alcohol-related cancer risk for these adults. Instead, it pointed to colorectal cancer for men and breast cancer for women.
Chinmay Jani, a medical oncologist at Sylvester, the University of Miami's cancer center, conducted the research with Gilberto Lopes, Sylvester's chief of medical oncology.
Jani told Earth.com, "There is already substantial public awareness of the relationship between alcohol and liver cancer. However, our study helps broaden that awareness by demonstrating alcohol's association with mortality from multiple other cancers, including breast, colorectal, esophageal, pancreatic, oral cavity, pharyngeal, and potentially prostate cancers."
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The full study was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet Regional Health – Americas.
More background
The analysis found that even though overall cancer death rates in the U.S. have been falling for decades, alcohol's share of cancer deaths has continued to climb.
Alcohol was estimated to account for 2.2% of the U.S. cancer death rate in 1990, rising to 3.5% in 2023, per Earth.com. While adults 55 and older made up most of the 2023 total, younger adults are still being impacted.
Liver cancer remained the leading alcohol-linked cause in older men, while breast cancer led in older women, followed by liver and colorectal cancer. The estimates came from the Global Burden of Disease database rather than death-certificate totals or case-by-case tracking, per Earth.com.
Where can I learn more?
The articles here add context, from policy efforts to curb alcohol harms to separate chemical exposures in beer and drinking water that have raised additional liver-health concerns.
• Across Europe, experts say higher taxes on alcohol could reduce liver-disease deaths.
• In the U.S., forever chemicals in beer added another health concern alongside alcohol exposure.
• Scientists warned that PFAS in drinking water may also contribute to liver disease.
These reports help explain why alcohol policy and other exposure risks keep coming up in conversations about cancer and liver health. They also fill in the broader public-health backdrop to the new U.S. mortality estimates.
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