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Building on the IARC classification of alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen, this global modelling study attributed 4.1% of all new cancers in 2020 to drinking, three-quarters of them in men and the largest numbers in oesophageal, liver and breast cancer.
IARC Monographs volumes 44, 96 and 100E established alcoholic beverages, and the acetaldehyde derived from them, as Group 1 carcinogens with sufficient evidence for cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus (squamous), liver, colorectum and female breast. Rumgay and colleagues combined per-capita alcohol consumption estimates (with a 10-year lag) and relative risks from meta-analyses with GLOBOCAN 2020 incidence to estimate the attributable burden by country, sex and site.
An estimated 741,300 new cancers (4.1% of all cases) were attributable to alcohol in 2020; 76.7% were in men. Oesophageal (189,700), liver (154,700) and breast (98,300) cancers had the largest numbers. Heavy drinking accounted for most of the burden, but moderate drinking (up to two drinks a day) contributed around 100,000 cases.
The paper drove policy interest in alcohol labelling and pricing, and the 2023 WHO and 2025 US Surgeon General statements on alcohol and cancer.
There is no safe level of alcohol for cancer risk, and the risk is highest for cancers of the mouth, throat, oesophagus, liver, bowel and breast. Public awareness is low; most people do not know alcohol causes breast cancer. Warning labels and minimum pricing are the policy levers being debated.
Shares Cancer warnings on alcohol labels, evaluated as a natural experiment, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC / WHO), Prevention we already have is not deployed, Oesophageal cancer.
Shares Cancer warnings on alcohol labels, evaluated as a natural experiment, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC / WHO), Misinformation and unproven therapies, Prevention we already have is not deployed.
Shares International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC / WHO), Misinformation and unproven therapies, Prevention we already have is not deployed, Oesophageal cancer.
Shares International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC / WHO), Prevention we already have is not deployed, Hepatocellular carcinoma, Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Shares International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC / WHO), Prevention we already have is not deployed, Oesophageal cancer, Hepatocellular carcinoma.
Shares Prevention we already have is not deployed, Oesophageal cancer, Hepatocellular carcinoma.
Shares International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC / WHO), Hepatocellular carcinoma, Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer.
Shares International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC / WHO), Oesophageal cancer, HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer, Colorectal cancer.