Drinking just one draft of beer every day raises the risk of contracting prostate cancer by 23 per cent, a study has found.
It means that when it comes to cancer, there is no safe threshold for drinking, researchers warned.
Only binge-drinking was thought to raise the risk of contracting the disease – the most common cancer for men. But this misconception was based on flawed studies that gave men a false sense of security, new analysis shows.
Researchers from the University of Victoria in Australia analysed 26 previous studies that linked alcohol consumption to prostate cancer. They found that men drinking two to three units each day – equivalent to one pint of 5 per cent strength beer or two 175ml glasses of wine – raised their risk of prostate cancer by 23 per cent compared to people who had never drunk alcohol.
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But even as little as half a pint a week increased the likelihood of contracting the cancer, which is a huge health problem for the NHS. Some 47,000 British men are diagnosed with the disease each year, and 11,000 die.
The research is likely to alarm men who considered themselves moderate drinkers and therefore not in danger. Lead researcher Tim Stockwell said, for cancer risk, the causal processes appear to be operating whenever we drink, and to a degree directly relate to how much we consume and with no safe threshold.
The risk was underestimated for years because many previous studies put former drinkers in the same category as teetotallers.
This created a false impression, because many former drinkers stop or cut down boozing as they age and their health declines. This gives the impression that the reference group of non-drinkers is unhealthier than it would be if it only included teetotallers.
As a result, when compared with the drinkers’ group, the risk from consuming alcohol appeared lower than it actually was. The authors said misclassifying former drinkers as so-called abstainers disguised a significant association between alcohol exposure and risk of prostate cancer.
The way in which alcohol triggers the growth of tumours in the prostate is not fully understood. Alcoholic drinks contain carcinogens including acetaldehyde – nicknamed ‘the hangover chemical’ – which is formed when alcohol is broken down in the liver, and can damage cell DNA.
Dr Stockwell added, the study contributes to the strengthening evidence that alcohol is a risk factor for prostate cancer. Consumption will need to be factored in to future estimates of the global burden of disease.
Co-author Dr Tanya Chikritzhs said the study – published in the online journal BMC Cancer – meant previous research showing alcohol had a protective effect on health should be ‘treated with caution’.
But Dr Jasmine Just, from Cancer Research UK, said: ‘Alcohol has been linked to several types of cancer, including breast and bowel cancer – but it’s not as clear whether alcohol increases the risk of prostate cancer.
This study suggests there’s a link between alcohol and prostate cancer, and takes into account factors that might have made this link less obvious in previous research. But it’s too early to say for sure whether alcohol increases the risk of prostate cancer.
However, she added, alcohol causes thousands of cancers each year, so cutting down how much you drink is a good way to reduce cancer risk.
Daily Mail