How much alcohol can I have without increasing cancer risk?

With the U.S. surgeon general calling for cancer warnings to be added to alcoholic beverage labels, many Americans may be wondering how many, if any, drinks can be consumed safely.

How does alcohol cause cancer?

There are several known ways alcohol causes cancer, Jiyoung Ahn, Ph.D., a cancer epidemiologist and associate director of population research at the NYU Langone Perlmutter Cancer Center in New York City, tells TODAY.com.

Alcohol is converted in the body to acetaldehyde, which directly damages DNA, she explains, adding that “alcohol also induces oxidative stress, which also damages DNA.” What’s more, alcohol can aggravate other cancer risk factors. For example, if you’re a smoker who drinks, the increase in risk will be larger than it would be if you just added the risks of each together. “The smoking carcinogens are more easily absorbed into the body,” Ahn says. Last, alcohol consumption can affect hormone levels, which may increase the risk of breast cancer, according to the surgeon general report.

How many drinks a week will increase your cancer risk?

It’s not clear yet whether there’s any amount of alcohol that won’t raise cancer risk at all, as different studies have come to different conclusions. (A recent major report even linked moderate drinking to a lower risk of death.) Murthy told NBC News that there’s no “magic level” of safe alcohol consumption for the entire population. “What we do know is that less alcohol consumption means less cancer risk.”

How many drinks a week is safe?

Whether there’s an increase in cancer risk with smaller amounts of alcohol depends on the type of cancer, Willett says.

“For breast cancer, we see a small increase in risk — about 15% compared to non-drinkers — with three or four drinks per week, or about half a drink per day,” he explains, adding that “breast tissue seems to be particularly sensitive to alcohol.” “For most other types of cancer, we don’t see much of an increase until we get close to two drinks per day. For some types of cancer, especially esophageal and oral cancers, smoking multiples the risk.”

Two to three drinks a week is probably OK, Willett suggests. “My advice is to get a very good bottle of wine and enjoy every sip.” On the other hand, the surgeon general uses less than one drink a week as its baseline for cancer risk in its report, Dr. Joseph Sparano, chief of hematology and medical oncology and deputy director of the Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, points out.

Are certain types of alcohol higher risk for cancer?

Experts say it doesn’t seem to matter what kind of alcohol people consume, whether that’s beer, wine or spirits. What matters is the amount.

Does cutting back on alcohol decrease cancer risk?

Cutting back on alcohol may decrease cancer risk if people reduce consumption by the time they hit mid-life, Mary Beth Terry, Ph.D., associate director of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center and a professor of epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, tells TODAY.com.

Conclusion

While it’s not clear what the exact safe limit of alcohol consumption is, experts agree that less alcohol consumption means less cancer risk. Cutting back on alcohol, especially by mid-life, may also decrease cancer risk. Public health agencies need to mount marketing campaigns to educate the public about the risks of alcohol consumption and the importance of moderation.

FAQs

Q: Is there a safe amount of alcohol consumption?
A: There is no “magic level” of safe alcohol consumption for the entire population. However, experts agree that less alcohol consumption means less cancer risk.

Q: How many drinks a week is safe?
A: Two to three drinks a week is probably OK, but it depends on the type of cancer and individual risk factors.

Q: Are certain types of alcohol higher risk for cancer?
A: No, experts say it doesn’t seem to matter what kind of alcohol people consume, whether that’s beer, wine or spirits. What matters is the amount.

Q: Does cutting back on alcohol decrease cancer risk?
A: Yes, cutting back on alcohol may decrease cancer risk if people reduce consumption by the time they hit mid-life.