Drinking alcohol can increase cancer risk in many ways. When the body breaks down the alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it produces a toxic chemical that damages DNA and proteins.

Heavy alcohol use can cause genetic mutations, impair tumor suppression, and limit the body’s ability to absorb nutrients from food that help protect against cancer.

The World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research developed the Continuous Update Project (CUP) to review and publish evidence of the effect of diet, nutrition and physical activity on cancer risk and survival. Their first CUP report was published in 1997 with subsequent reports coming out every 10 years.

The first report confirmed a link between alcohol consumption and increased risk for several cancers including mouth, throat, larynx, esophagus, breast, colorectal and liver cancers. In each of the reports that followed, the number of cancers for which alcohol consumption increases risk has expanded. The last CUP report, published in 2017, identified at least 13 cancers for which there is now evidence of increased risk attributable to alcohol consumption.

Speaking of CUPs, women should understand that being “in your cups” can affect what’s in your “cups”. Alcohol consumption can raise estrogen levels, which elevates breast cancer risk. Also of note, the incidence of early onset breast cancer, diagnosed in women younger than age 40, has been increasing. A recent study showed a distinct correlation between binge drinking and increased risk of early-onset breast cancer.

A recent study suggested that rates of binge drinking among both men and women were increasing, with women experiencing steeper increases than men. Binge drinking is defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism as a pattern of drinking that brings blood alcohol concentration to 0.08% or higher. For a typical woman, this corresponds to consuming four or more drinks in about 2 hours.

Alcohol-related cancer deaths are on the rise, almost doubling between 1990 and 2020. Even moderate alcohol consumption, defined as one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men, can increase our risk for some cancers. More of us should be aware of this and further aware of the increased risk of the occasional binge.

Sherry DeWalt is the healthy lifestyles coordinator for the CGH Health Foundation in Sterling.