The World Health Organization (WHO) said the European region has the highest rate of new breast cancer diagnoses compared to the rest of the world, and alcohol is one of the biggest risk factors for the disease.
In a statement, the WHO said that in its 53-nation European region, which stretches from northwest Greenland to the Russian Far East, 1,579 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every day.
“Alcohol consumption is one of the leading modifiable risk factors for the disease, causing seven out of every 100 new cases of breast cancer in the region,” the WHO said.
“The WHO encourages everyone to understand that the risk of breast cancer can be significantly reduced simply by reducing alcohol consumption.”
According to estimates by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), by 2020, alcohol consumption was responsible for almost 40,000 new cases of breast cancer in the European region.
“Many people, including women, are not aware that breast cancer is the most common alcohol-induced cancer among women globally,” she said. Marlys Corbex, WHO / Europe non-communicable diseases expert.
Calls for reducing alcohol consumption
“People need to know that by reducing their alcohol consumption, they can reduce their risk of developing cancer. “It does not matter what type, quality or price alcohol is,” said Corbex.
Data cited by the WHO show that breast cancer has become the most common cancer globally.
More than 2 million new cases were estimated in 2020, with about 100,000 attributed to alcohol consumption.
Alcohol is classified as a Group 1 human carcinogen by the IARC and is causally linked to seven types of cancer.
“In addition to breast cancer in women, it increases the risk of developing the following types of cancer: oral cavity, throat, esophagus, liver, larynx and colorectum (colon and rectum),” the WHO statement said.
The WHO said there is no safe level of alcohol consumption, adding that the risk of breast cancer increases with each unit of alcohol per day.
“More than 10 percent of cancer cases attributed to alcohol in the WHO European Region come from drinking just one bottle of beer (500 ml) or two small glasses of wine every day,” the WHO said.
For breast cancer, this is even higher, as one in four cases of breast cancer attributable to alcohol in the European region is caused by this amount.
“Simply put, alcohol is toxic. “It damages every organ as it passes through the body,” said Dr. Carina Ferreira Borges, Acting Director for Non-Communicable Diseases at WHO / Europe.
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