Relation of alcohol consumption to colorectal cancer

The paper provides evidence that alcohol, at least at higher levels of consumption, is associated with an increase in the risk of colorectal cancer. Overall, there was no increase in the risk for consumers reporting an average intake of up to 1 drink per day, but an increase (of 21%) for what the authors defined as “moderate drinking” (averaging up to 49.9 g of alcohol – far in excess of all responsible drinking guidelines ). The increase in risk was greater (52%) for consumers of 50 or more grams of alcohol per day.

Forum reviewers thought that this was, in general, a very well-done study that used appropriate statistical techniques for meta-analysis. There were some key concerns, however, including the following: (1) the authors' definition of “moderate drinking” extended well above the usual recommended limits for sensible drinking; effects of consumption in categories of 1 to 2 drinks/day, 2 to 3 drinks/day, etc., were not given; (2) no results were provided according to type of beverage even though many previous studies have shown differences between health effects for consumers of wine, or wine/beer, and other beverages; and (3) no data were available on the pattern of drinking. Many studies have shown that regular, moderate drinking on most days of the week has very different health outcomes than drinking only on week-ends or binge drinking.

Despite these concerns, Forum members agreed that current data indicate that alcohol intake, especially heavier drinking, is associated with an increase in the risk of colorectal cancers. Future studies are needed to help determine if there is a threshold level of alcohol that increases the risk, if there are differences by type of beverage, and if the pattern of drinking (regular versus binge drinking) affects the risk.

Reference: Fedirko V, Tramacere I, Bagnardi V, Rota M, Scotti L, Islami F, et al. Alcohol drinking and colorectal cancer risk: an overall and dose–response meta-analysis of published studies. Annals of Oncology 22: 1958�, 2011, doi:10.1093/annonc/mdq653

Comments on this critique by the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research were provided by the following members:

R. Curtis Ellison, MD, Section of Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

Harvey Finkel, MD, Hematology/Oncology, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

Tedd Goldfinger, DO, FACC, Desert Cardiology of Tucson Heart Center, Dept. of Cardiology, University of Arizona School of Medicine, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Francesco Orlandi, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, Università degli Studi di Ancona, Italy

Arne Svilaas, MD, PhD, general practice and lipidology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway

Gordon Troup, MSc, DSc, School of Physics, Monash University, Victoria, Australia

Fulvio Ursini, MD, Dept. of Biological Chemistry, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

Andrew L. Waterhouse, PhD, Marvin Sands Professor, Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis, USA

For the detailed critique of this paper by the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research click here: http://www.bu.edu/alcohol-forum/critique-056-relation-of-alcohol-consumption-to-colorectal-cancer-13-september-2011/

The specialists who are members of the Forum are happy to respond to questions from Health Editors regarding emerging research on alcohol and health and will offer an independent opinion in context with other research on the subject