{"id":20708,"date":"2026-02-08T18:51:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T17:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=20708"},"modified":"2026-02-17T20:14:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T19:14:42","slug":"consistent-heavy-drinking-may-double-colorectal-cancer-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2026\/02\/consistent-heavy-drinking-may-double-colorectal-cancer-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Consistent heavy drinking may double colorectal cancer risk"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">by Erikka Loftfield, PhD, MPH &#8211; NIH &#8211; January 26, 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Key takeaways:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Consistent heavy alcohol use and higher lifetime consumption may raise risk for colorectal cancer, particularly rectal tumors.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Data suggest a benefit of alcohol cessation among former moderate\/heavy drinkers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">An analysis of more than 88,000 U.S. adults provides new insights into how duration and extent of alcohol consumption may affect colorectal cancer risk.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Current and consistent heavy alcohol intake throughout adulthood appeared associated with a near-doubling of risk compared with current, consistent light drinking, data from a population-based randomized screening trial showed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Data derived from\u00a0O\u2019Connell CP, et al. Cancer. 2026;doi:10.1002\/cncr.70201.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Higher lifetime alcohol consumption also appeared associated with significantly higher risk, particularly for rectal tumors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">In addition, the findings suggested benefits of alcohol cessation, including lower odds for colorectal cancer or nonadvanced adenomas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Erikka Loftfield states that\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cThe findings of this study support \u2014 and really give empirical weight to \u2014 guidance from internationally recognized bodies that recommend limiting or abstaining from alcohol intake to reduce cancer risk,\u201d .<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Filling an evidence gap<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Research has intensified over the past several years into\u00a0alcohol\u2019s role in cancer development.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">A population-based study led by International Agency for Cancer Research linked alcohol consumption to more than 740,000 new cancer diagnoses in 2020, equivalent to 4% of cases worldwide.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Loftfield and colleagues analyzed data from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial \u2014 designed to determine the effects of screening on cancer-related mortality among cancer-free adults \u2014 to estimate the association between lifetime alcohol consumption and incident colorectal cancer or adenoma.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">\u201cPrior studies have established that alcohol consumption is associated with increased risk of cancer, but there\u2019s very little data regarding how lifetime patterns of drinking affect colorectal adenoma and cancer risk,\u201d Loftfield said. \u201cWe wanted to try to fill that gap. We know a lot about how smoking cessation lowers cancer risk, but we wanted to learn more about what reduction or cessation of alcohol drinking means for future cancer risk.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">In the PLCO trial, researchers randomly assigned people aged 55 to 74 years to cancer screening or standard care. Colorectal cancer screening consisted of flexible sigmoidoscopy at baseline, and again either 3 years or 5 years later.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Trial participants completed risk factor and dietary history questionnaires. They reported alcohol intake during four age periods \u201418 to 24 years, 25 to 39 years, 40 to 54 years, and 55 years and older \u2014 using 10 predefined frequency categories, as well as current drinking frequency at baseline.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Loftfield and colleagues categorized participants as current drinkers, former drinkers or never drinkers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">They used multiple categories to quantify average lifetime drinking \u2014 less than one drink per week, one to less than seven drinks per week, seven to less than 14 per week, or 14 or more per week \u2014 and they used past and current drinking frequency to define broader alcohol intake patterns through adulthood.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">They used sex-specific U.S. dietary guidelines to classify light drinking (less than 14 drinks per week for men, less than seven per week for women), moderate drinking (14 to 21 drinks per week for men, seven to 14 per week for women) and heavy drinking (22 or more per week for men, 15 or more per week for women).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>\u2018Timely\u2019 findings<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">During 20 years of follow-up, 1,679 incident colorectal cancer cases occurred among 88,092 PLCO trial participants.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Current drinkers who had an average lifetime alcohol intake of 14 or more drinks per week exhibited a 25% (HR = 1.25; 95% CI, 1.01-1.53) higher risk for colorectal cancer than those with average lifetime intake of one drink or less per week.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Those with higher average lifetime alcohol intake had nearly double the risk for rectal cancer (HR = 1.95; 95% CI, 1.17-3.28).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">\u201cThis finding is timely because we are seeing\u00a0increasing rates of colorectal cancer among younger people, and that increase has been driven predominantly by rectal tumors,\u201d Loftfield said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Consistent heavy drinking appeared associated with a near-doubling of colorectal cancer compared with light drinking (HR = 1.91; 95% CI, 1.17-3.12).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">The data also suggested benefits of alcohol cessation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Former drinkers who had been moderate to heavy drinkers earlier in life exhibited similar colorectal cancer risk as light drinkers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">An analysis of about 12,000 PLCO trial participants who had negative baseline screens compared former drinkers with current drinkers who averaged less than one drink per week in their lifetime. Results showed former drinkers had numerically lower risk for any adenoma (OR = 0.78; 95% CI, 0.59-1.02) and significantly lower risk for nonadvanced adenoma (OR = 0.58; 95% CI, 0.39-0.84).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">\u201cFrom a clinical perspective, that is pretty robust evidence to support that there is a benefit to drinking cessation,\u201d Loftfield said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">The mechanisms of alcohol\u2019s impact on cancer risk have been well studied, specifically related to how alcohol in the body converts to acetaldehyde, a known carcinogen. Less is known about how alcohol affects the gut microbiome and the impact that may have on colorectal cancer risk, Loftfield said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Loftfield and colleagues hope to conduct additional research exploring the impact of lifetime alcohol use \u2014 and alcohol cessation \u2014 on other malignancies, such as liver cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Further study into the effects of alcohol cessation on people who average one to two drinks per day also could be valuable, Loftfield said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">\u201cWe know a lot more about heavy drinkers who quit drinking or reduce their alcohol intake,\u201d she said. \u201cA better understanding of what happens for moderate drinkers, and how their biology changes when they reduce or quit drinking, may help inform what we know about cancer prevention.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Source: Herschel Baker &#8211;\u00a0<\/strong>International Liaison Director,\u00a0Queensland Director,\u00a0Drug Free Australia<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Erikka Loftfield, PhD, MPH &#8211; NIH &#8211; January 26, 2026 Key takeaways: Consistent heavy alcohol use and higher lifetime consumption may raise risk for colorectal cancer, particularly rectal tumors. Data suggest a benefit of alcohol cessation among former moderate\/heavy drinkers. An analysis of more than 88,000 U.S. adults provides new insights into how duration [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,68,40,36,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alcohol","category-drug-use-various-effects","category-prevention-research","category-treatment-addiction","category-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20708"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20709,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20708\/revisions\/20709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}