The First Step in Cancer Prevention Is Definitely 'Geumju'... If Quitting Is Difficult, At Least Reduce the Amount

Samsung Seoul Hospital Professor Shin Dong-wook and Co-research Team
Lower Alcohol Consumption Reduces Cancer Risk
From Non-drinker to High-risk Drinker, Risk Increases by 34%

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The first step to preventing cancer has once again been confirmed to be 'abstinence from alcohol.' If quitting drinking is difficult, reducing the amount consumed can still help prevent cancer.

A joint research team consisting of Professor Shin Dong-wook from the Department of Family Medicine at Samsung Seoul Hospital, Professor Yoo Jung-eun from the Department of Family Medicine at Seoul National University Hospital Gangnam Center, and Professor Han Kyung-do from the Department of Statistics at Soongsil University announced on the 15th that they confirmed changes in cancer risk according to changes in alcohol consumption based on the health examination records of 4,513,746 adults aged 40 and over who underwent national health screenings in 2009 and 2011.

The research team categorized the subjects into ▲non-drinkers ▲low-risk drinkers (less than 15g) ▲moderate-risk drinkers (15?30g) ▲high-risk drinkers (30g or more) according to their daily alcohol consumption and analyzed how changes in drinking amounts affected cancer incidence. An alcohol amount of 15g generally corresponds to one can of beer (375ml) or one and a half glasses of soju based on commonly sold products.

The study found that people who did not usually drink but started drinking saw an increased risk of alcohol-related cancers. Alcohol-related cancers include those with established causal links to alcohol, such as oral cancer, esophageal cancer, pharyngeal cancer, liver cancer, rectal cancer, and breast cancer.

Among those who were non-drinkers at the previous screening, those who became low-risk drinkers at the next screening had a 3% increased cancer risk, moderate-risk drinkers had a 10% increase, and high-risk drinkers had a 34% increase. Even habitual drinkers who increased their alcohol intake showed similar trends: low-risk drinkers who became moderate-risk drinkers had a 10% increased risk, and those who became high-risk drinkers had a 17% increased risk. Moderate-risk drinkers who escalated to high-risk drinking saw a 4% increase in risk.

When expanding the scope to all cancer types, similar trends were observed. Non-drinkers who became high-risk drinkers had a 12% increased overall cancer risk. Low-risk and moderate-risk drinkers who became high-risk drinkers saw their cancer risk increase by 9% and 1%, respectively.

Quitting or reducing alcohol consumption clearly had a preventive effect against cancer. In particular, high-risk drinkers who frequently overconsume alcohol reduced their alcohol-related cancer risk by 9% and overall cancer risk by 4% when they cut down to moderate-risk drinking. Further reducing to low-risk drinking lowered the risk by 8% for both categories. Among those who completely abstained from alcohol at the second survey point in 2011 and maintained abstinence until 2013, the risk of alcohol-related cancer was 9% lower compared to those who continued drinking at risky levels. This once again confirmed the effectiveness of abstinence and moderation in preventing cancer.

Professor Shin Dong-wook stated, "As the year-end approaches, alcohol consumption tends to increase suddenly, but it is important to at least maintain previous levels to prevent alcohol-related accidents and contribute to cancer prevention."

This research was published in the recent issue of the American Medical Association's journal, JAMA Network.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.