MIAMI, Fla. (WOWO) — Cancer deaths in the United States attributed to alcohol more than doubled over a three-decade period, with colorectal cancer emerging as the leading alcohol-linked cause of death among men ages 20 to 54, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Miami Mil ler School of Medicine. The study, led by researchers at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, found that estimated annual alcohol-attributable cancer deaths increased from 11,361 in 1990 to 23,126 in 2023. The findings were published in The Lancet Regional Health — Americas and presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago. Researchers analyzed more than 30 years of information from the Global Burden of Disease study to examine changes in alcohol-attributable cancer deaths across the United States. The analysis found that the burden was greatest among older adults and men overall. But researchers also identified a notable pattern among younger Americans. For men between 20 and 54, colorectal cancer had the highest alcohol-attributable cancer mortality rate in 2023. Among women in the same age group, breast cancer ranked first, while colorectal cancer was second. That finding stands out because alcohol is often most strongly associated in the public’s mind with liver disease and liver cancer. “The most surprising finding was the breadth of alcohol’s potential impact across cancer types,” said Dr. Chinmay Jani, the study’s corresponding author and chief fellow in hematology and oncology at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. Jani said the connection between alcohol and liver cancer is widely recognized, but the public may be less familiar with alcohol’s association with colorectal, esophageal, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancers. The researchers found that the specific cancers associated with alcohol varied considerably by age and sex. Among older men, liver cancer was the leading cause of alcohol-attributable cancer mortality, followed by esophageal and colorectal cancers. Breast cancer was the leading alcohol-attributable cancer among women overall. Among younger adults, however, colorectal cancer surpassed liver cancer as an alcohol-attributable cause of death in both men and women. The study also found that the overall age-standardized mortality rate for alcohol-attributable cancer increased from 3.8 deaths per 100,000 people in 1990 to 4.1 deaths per 100,000 in 2023. The trend was different for men and women. Researchers reported an increase in the age-standardized alcohol-attributable cancer mortality rate among men over the study period, while the rate declined among women. The findings come as researchers continue to emphasize that alcohol is an established cancer risk factor. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen, meaning there is sufficient evidence that alcohol consumption can cause cancer in humans. Researchers say the public understanding of that risk remains limited compared with awareness surrounding tobacco and cancer. The study does not mean alcohol caused every cancer death counted in the analysis. Researchers relied on population-level data and statistical modeling rather than following individual people over time and recording their exact drinking patterns, medical histories and other possible risk factors. Because of those limitations, the findings demonstrate an association between alcohol exposure and cancer mortality. They cannot establish that alcohol directly caused a particular individual’s cancer or death. The analysis also does not establish a specific amount of alcohol that can be considered completely safe from a cancer standpoint. Researchers say reducing alcohol consumption can nevertheless be one potentially modifiable way to reduce long-term cancer risk. Dr. Gilberto Lopes, senior author of the study and chief of the Division of Medical Oncology at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, said the findings show that alcohol-related cancer risk is not confined to one disease or one segment of the population. “As physicians and cancer researchers, we have an opportunity to help patients understand that alcohol is a modifiable risk factor,” Lopes said. He said even relatively small, informed changes can be part of a broader strategy for reducing cancer risk. The study also found significant geographic differences in alcohol-attributable cancer mortality across the United States. Researchers reported the highest age-standardized mortality rates in the District of Columbia and the lowest rates in Utah. Among men, the District of Columbia recorded an estimated rate of 9.8 alcohol-attributable cancer deaths per 100,000 people The post Alcohol-Linked Cancer Deaths More Than Double in U.S., Study Finds appeared first on WOWO News/Talk 92.3 FM and 1190 AM. ...read more read less