Alcohol use leads to an increased risk of some cancers, including oral cancer, according to a study conducted by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France. Study results were published July 13 in Lancet Oncology.
In a modeling study, a group led by Harriet Rumgay of the IARC found that in Canada alcohol use was associated with 7,000 new cancer cases in 2020. Of these, 13% were oral and liver cancers.
"Alcohol consumption causes a substantial burden of cancer globally," Dr. Isabelle Soerjomataram, deputy head of the IARC's Cancer Surveillance Branch, said in a statement released by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Ontario, Canada.