Did You Know Drinking Alcohol Increases Cancer Risk?

November 7, 2017
Greg Guthrie, ASCO staff

Today, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) released a statement about alcohol and cancer risk. Research has proven that alcohol is connected to more than 5% of cancer diagnoses around the world, including several types of head and neck cancers, esophageal cancer, liver cancer, breast cancer, and colon cancer.share on twitter Because alcohol use is a lifestyle choice that people can change, ASCO’s statement aims to raise awareness of the risk alcohol poses to the development of cancer. 

In this podcast, Noelle LoConte, MD, describes some of the key points of the ASCO statement. Dr. LoConte is the lead author of the statement and is an associate professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin.

  • The connection between alcohol and cancer [1:40].

  • Which cancers are linked to alcohol use [2:02].

  • What amount of alcohol increases cancer risk? [2:30]

  • How alcohol causes cancer [4:52].

  • ASCO’s recommendations for lowering alcohol consumption [5:50].

  • Drinking alcohol while in cancer treatment [7:27].

This is a prerecorded audio podcast. It can be listened to online or downloaded to your computer. A transcript of this podcast is also available. For more information, visit the Cancer.Net podcast page.

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