Alcohol is that the common term for ethanol or ethyl alcohol, a chemical substance found in alcoholic beverages like beer, cider, malt, wines, and distilled spirits (liquor). Alcohol is produced by the fermentation of sugars and starches by yeast. Alcohol is additionally found in some medicines, mouthwashes, and household products (including vanilla and other flavorings). This fact sheet focuses on cancer risks related to the consumption of alcoholic beverages. According to the National Institute on alcoholic abuse and Alcoholism, a typical alcoholic drink, contains 14.0 grams (0.6 ounces) of pure alcohol. Generally, this amount of pure alcohol is found in 12 ounces of beer, 8–9 ounces of malt, 5 ounces of wine, 1.5 ounces, or a shot of 80-proof distilled spirits (liquor).

There is a robust scientific consensus that alcohol drinking can cause several sorts of cancer. In its Report on Carcinogens, the National Toxicology Program of the US Department of Health and Human Services lists consumption of alcoholic beverages as a known human carcinogen. The evidence indicates that the more alcohol an individual drinks—particularly the more alcohol an individual drinks regularly over time—the higher his or her risk of developing an alcohol-associated cancer. Even those that haven't any quite one drink per day and binge drinkers (those who consume 4 or more drinks for ladies and 5 or more drinks for men in one sitting) have a modestly increased risk of some cancers, supported data from 2009, an estimated 3.5% of cancer deaths within the us (about 19,500 deaths) were alcohol related.

Clear patterns have emerged between alcohol consumption and therefore the development of the subsequent sorts of cancer:

Head and neck cancer: Moderate to heavy alcohol consumption is related to higher risks of certain head and neck cancers. Moderate drinkers have 1.8-fold higher risks of mouth (excluding the lips) and pharynx (throat) cancers and 1.4-fold higher risks of larynx (voice box) cancers than non-drinkers, and heavy drinkers have 5-fold higher risks of mouth and pharynx cancers and a couple of .6-fold higher risks of larynx cancers. Moreover, the risks of those cancers are substantially higher among persons who consume this amount of alcohol and also use tobacco.

Esophageal cancer: Alcohol consumption at any level is related to an increased risk of a kind of esophageal cancer called esophageal epithelial cell carcinoma. The risks, compared with no alcohol consumption, range from 1.3-fold higher for light drinking to just about 5-fold higher for heavy drinking and additionally , people that inherit a deficiency in an enzyme that metabolizes alcohol are found to possess substantially increased risks of esophageal epithelial cell carcinoma if they consume alcohol.

Liver cancer: Heavy alcohol consumption is related to approximately 2-fold increased risks of two sorts of cancer of the liver (hepatocellular carcinoma and intrahepatic cholangio carcinoma).

Breast cancer: Epidemiologic studies have consistently found an increased risk of carcinoma with increasing alcohol intake.

Colorectal cancer: Moderate to heavy alcohol consumption is related to 1.2- to 1.5-fold increased risks of cancers of the colon and rectum compared with no alcohol consumption.

Researchers have hypothesized multiple ways in which alcohol may increase the danger of cancer, including: metabolizing (breaking down) ethanol in alcoholic drinks to acetaldehyde, which may be a toxic chemical and a probable human carcinogen; acetaldehyde can damage both DNA (the genetic material that creates up genes) and proteins generating reactive oxygen species (chemically reactive molecules that contain oxygen), which may damage DNA, proteins, and lipids (fats) within the body through a process called oxidation impairing the body’s ability to interrupt down and absorb a spread of nutrients which will be related to cancer risk, including vitamin A; nutrients within the B-complex vitamin complex, like folate; vitamin C; vitamin D; vitamin E; and carotenoids increasing blood levels of estrogen, a steroid hormone linked to the danger of carcinoma. Alcoholic beverages can also contain a spread of carcinogenic contaminants that are introduced during fermentation and production, like nitrosamines, asbestos fibers, phenols, and hydrocarbons.