- Title
- The IARC Perspective on Alcohol Reduction or Cessation and Cancer Risk
- Creator
- Gapstur, Susan M.; Bouvard, Véronique; Conway, David I.; Islami, Farhad; Lachenmeier, Dirk W.; McGlynn, Katherine A.; Salaspuro, Mikko; Sawada, Norie; Terry, Mary B.; Toporcov, Tatiana; Lauby-Secretan, Béatrice; Nethan, Suzanne T.; Freudenheim, Jo L.; Abnet, Christian C.; English, Dallas R.; Rehm, Jürgen; Balbo, Silvia; Buykx, Penny; Crabb, David
- Relation
- The New England Journal of Medicine Vol. 389, Issue 26, p. 2486-2494
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/nejmsr2306723
- Publisher
- Massachusetts Medical Society
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2023
- Description
- Globally, ethanol — the principal form of alcohol in alcoholic beverages — is the most widely used psychoactive substance. In 2019, 44% of the global population 15 years of age or older had consumed alcohol in the previous year. The prevalence of alcohol consumption varies considerably according to geographic region, ranging from 4% in the World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Region to at least 60% in the European, American, and Western Pacific Regions, and is higher among men than among women. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified alcoholic beverages as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) on the basis of sufficient evidence of causality for oral, pharyngeal, laryngeal, esophageal (squamous-cell), liver (hepatocellular), colorectal, and breast cancers (hereafter referred to as alcohol-related cancers). Ethanol in alcoholic beverages and acetaldehyde that is associated with consumption of alcoholic beverages are also classified as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1). Worldwide, in 2020, an estimated 741,300 new cancer cases (4.1% of all new cancer cases) were attributable to alcohol consumption (6.1% among men and 2.0% among women) (Table 1). Recently, the WHO stated that “no safe amount of alcohol consumption for cancers and health can be established.” In 2010, the 63rd World Health Assembly endorsed the Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol (resolution WHA63.13). Consistent with the objectives outlined in the Global Strategy is increasing knowledge about the potential benefits of alcohol reduction or cessation for decreasing alcohol-related cancer risks. From February through May 2023, the IARC Handbooks of Cancer Prevention Program convened a Working Group of 15 scientists (all of whom are coauthors of this article) from eight countries to review published studies and qualitatively evaluate the strength of epidemiologic evidence on the potential for alcohol reduction or cessation to reduce alcohol-related cancer risk and of mechanistic evidence on the potential effects of alcohol reduction or cessation to reduce alcohol-related carcinogenesis (no studies in experimental animals with a cancer outcome were available). Presented here is a summary and evaluation of the evidence. Details on the scope and objectives of the Program and the guiding principles and procedures of the review and evaluation are described in the IARC Handbooks Preamble for Primary Prevention.
- Subject
- drinking behavior; health behavior; risk; alcohol reduction; SDG 3; Sustainable Development Goals
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1499545
- Identifier
- uon:54723
- Identifier
- ISSN:0028-4793
- Language
- eng
- Reviewed
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