Drinking just one pint of beer every day raises the risk of contracting prostate cancer by 23 per cent, a study has found.
It means that when it comes to cancer, there is no safe threshold for drinking, researchers warned.
Only binge-drinking was thought to raise the risk of contracting the disease – the most common cancer for men.
But this misconception was based on flawed studies that gave men a false sense of security, the new analysis shows.
Research
by the Centre for Addictions Research of BC at the University of
Victoria in Canada and Australia's National Drug Research Institute at
Curtin University analysed 26 previous scientific studies that linked
the consumption of alcohol to prostate cancer.
They
found that men who drank two to three units each day – equivalent to
one pint of 5 per cent strength beer or two 175ml glasses of wine –
raised their risk of prostate cancer by 23 per cent compared to people
who had never drunk alcohol.
But
even as little as half a pint a week increased the likelihood of
contracting the cancer, which is a huge health problem for the NHS.
Some 47,000 British men are diagnosed with the disease each year, and 11,000 die.
The research is likely to alarm men who considered themselves moderate drinkers and therefore not in danger.
Lead
researcher Tim Stockwell said: 'For cancer risk, the causal processes
appear to be operating whenever we drink, and to a degree directly
relate to how much we consume and with no safe threshold.' The risk was
underestimated for years because many previous studies put former
drinkers in the same category as teetotallers.
This created a false impression, because many former drinkers stop or cut down boozing as they age and their health declines.
As
a result, the reference group of non-drinkers was unhealthier than it
would have been if it only included teetotallers. So when compared with
the drinkers' group, the risk from consuming alcohol appeared to be
lower than it actually was.
The
authors said misclassifying former drinkers as so-called abstainers
'disguised a significant association between alcohol exposure and risk
of prostate cancer'.
The way in
which alcohol triggers the growth of tumours in the prostate is not
fully understood. Alcoholic drinks contain carcinogens including
acetaldehyde – nicknamed 'the hangover chemical' – which is formed when
alcohol is broken down in the liver, and can damage cell DNA.
Dr
Stockwell added: 'This study contributes to the strengthening evidence
that alcohol is a risk factor for prostate cancer. Consumption will need
to be factored in to future estimates of the global burden of disease.'
Co-author
Dr Tanya Chikritzhs said the study – published in the journal
BMC Cancer – meant previous research showing alcohol had a protective
effect on health should be 'treated with caution'.
But
Dr Jasmine Just, from Cancer Research UK, said: 'Alcohol has been
linked to several types of cancer, including breast and bowel cancer –
but it's not as clear whether alcohol increases the risk of prostate
cancer.
'This
study suggests there's a link between alcohol and prostate cancer, and
takes into account factors that might have made this link less obvious
in previous research.
'But it's too early to say for sure whether alcohol increases the risk of prostate cancer.'
However,
she added: 'Alcohol causes thousands of cancers each year, so cutting
down how much you drink is a good way to reduce cancer risk.'
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