The report states that consumption of alcoholic beverages is causally related to cancers of the mouth pharynx larynx and esophagus and that studies indicate that the risk is most pronounced among smokers and at the highest levels of consumption.
Alcohol Linked to Cancers
The effect of a given level of alcoholic beverage intake on cancers of the head and neck is influenced by other factors, especially smoking, but that smoking does not explain the increased cancer hazard associated with alcoholic beverage consumption according to the report.There is evidence that suggests a link between alcoholic beverage consumption and cancer of the liver and breast.
Potential Hazard
The report was first ordered by Congress in 1978 to educate both the public and health professionals in the recognition that many cancers are apparently induced by chemicals in the home workplace general environment and from the use of certain drugs.It identifies "potential" cancer hazards. A listing in the report does not by itself establish that a substance presents a cancer risk to an individual in daily life, according to press releases.
Dose-Dependent Association
However the "known" category is reserved for those substances for which there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity from studies in humans that indicates a cause and effect relationship between the exposure and human cancer.Epidemiologic research has shown a dose-dependent association between alcohol consumption and certain types of cancer; as alcohol consumption increases, so does risk of developing certain cancers. Previous research indicated alcohol was a possible catalyst, but not a carcinogen itself.
