Research has shown that alcohol is a carcinogen and that long-term regular consumption increases the risks of cancers of the mouth, oesophagus (gullet), larynx, liver, and female breast and, to a lesser extent, cancers of the colon, and rectum. While research suggests that there is no low level of long-term, regular consumption of alcohol that can reliably be described as risk-free, any such increased risk of cancer at low levels of consumption is itself reported as low.
The relative risks of developing mouth, oesophagus (gullet), larynx, colo-rectum, liver and female breast cancer are given in the following table:
Alcohol-related cancers Men Women Men Women Mouth 2.5 1.7 5.4 5.4 Oesophagus 1.9 1.4 4.4 4.4 Larynx 31.8 1.2 4.9 4.9 Colo-rectum 41.2 1.1 41.5 1.4 Liver 1.3 1.2 3.6 3.6 Female breast n/a 1.2 n/a 1.6 1 Unless otherwise stated, relative risks taken from National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia: www.nhmrc.gov.au/consult/_files/draft_australian_alcohol_guidelines.pdf 2 Unless otherwise stated, relative risks taken from Rehm J., Room R., Monteiro M., Gmel G., Graham K., Rehn T., Sempos C. T., Frick U., Jernigan D. Alcohol. (2004) In: WHO (ed), Comparative quantification of health risks: Global and regional burden of disease due to selected major risk factors. Geneva: WHO. 3 From Corrao, G., Bagnardi, V., Zambon, A. and La Vecchia C. (2004) A meta-analysis of alcohol consumption and the risk of 15 diseases. Preventive Medicine 38 613-619. 4 World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research. Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective. Washington DC: AICR, 2007
The Department is committed to raising public understanding of the risks from excessive alcohol consumption, including those relating to various types of cancer. Raised risks of female breast cancer, in particular, are highlighted in the Department's ‘Know Your Limits' campaign, which began in May 2008.