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Drink Less: Heavy alcohol use may increase risk of prostate cancer
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Published: August 26, 2009
The question: Might alcohol consumption affect the risk for prostate cancer?
This study: It analyzed data on 10,920 men. In a seven-year b, prostate cancer was detected in 2,129 of them, including 564 men with high-grade tumors, which grow and spread quickly. Those who consumed, on average, four or more drinks a day (totaling roughly two ounces or more of pure alcohol) five days a week in the year before diagnosis were more than twice as likely to have developed high-grade prostate cancer as were those who did not drink. No link was found between prostate cancer and moderate drinking. Also, among men who had been randomly assigned to take finasteride (Proscar, Propecia) as part of other research to test the drug's ability to prevent prostate cancer, heavy drinking blocked the effectiveness of the drug.
Who may be affected? Men. Health experts suggest that men consume no more than two alcoholic drinks a day. Drinking more raises the risk for high blood pressure, stroke, violence and injuries, including car wrecks, and can lead to addiction. Prostate cancer affects about one in six men in the United States. As detection and treatment methods have improved, the death rate for prostate cancer has fallen to about one in 35 men.
Caveats: Alcohol-consumption data came from the men's responses to questionnaires, and long-term consumption was not assessed. Most heavy drinkers in the study consumed beer.
Find this study: July 13 online issue of Cancer.
Learn more: www.cancer.gov and www.prostatecancerfoundation.org.
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