Cancer of the large bowel in women in relation to alcohol consumption: a case-control study in Wisconsin (United States)

Abstract

Age-specific consumption of beer, wine, and liquor was ascertained by telephone interview from 779 women in Wisconsin (United States) with newly reported diagnosis of carcinoma of the colon and rectum. Population controls (n = 2,315) interviewed for this case-control study were randomly selected from Wisconsin driver's license files and Health Care Financing Administration files. Overall, there was a modest indication that high levels of alcohol consumption (11 or more drinks per week) were associated with increased risk of large bowel cancer (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.47, 95 percent confidence interval [CI] = 1.0-2.22). In site-specific analyses, only rectal cancer demonstrated a significant linear trend (P = 0.01) with increasing consumption. Significant beverage-specific effects were observed for liquor and colon cancer: the adjusted ORs for 1-2, 3-5, and 6+ drinks per week were 1.12, 1.68, 1.51, respectively (P trend = 0.01). Beer was associated significantly with rectal cancer: the adjusted ORs for 1-2, 3-5, 6-10, and 11+ drinks per week were 1.25, 1.25, 1.58, 2.42, respectively (P trend = 0.02). Wine consumption was associated inversely with these cancers. These relationships appeared to be consistent for recent, past, and total lifetime consumption, and were not attributable to differences in dietary habits.

Alcohol Intake and Colorectal Cancer: A Pooled Analysis of 8 Cohort Studies

“…The association between beer intake and colon cancer has been inconsistent (46,49,50,52,55,59,61,63,64,68,69). Most studies have reported no association between wine or liquor intake and colon or rectal cancer (48, 50 -52, 60, 61, 63, 67-69); however, a few studies have reported positive associations for colon cancer (46,55,63,64). We found that all 3 types of beverage were somewhat positively associated with colorectal cancer and that the risks among these beverages did not differ significantly.…”

Genotype Difference of Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 2 Gene in Alcohol Drinkers Influences the Incidence of Japanese Colorectal Cancer Patients

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] Yet a meta-analysis by Longnecker et al…”

“…An overview of the results of case-control and prospective studies on consumption of alcoholic beverages in relation to colorectal cancer indicates that beer intake, but not intake of other alcoholic beverages is likely to be positively associated with the incidence of rectum cancer. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] On the other hand, most studies have found no correlation between beer consumption and the incidence of colon cancer (see review by Kune and Vitetta 3) ). Nevertheless, several studies from Japan, including a study on Japanese living in Hawaii, have demonstrated a positive association between alcohol drinking and the incidence of colon cancer.…”

Alcohol consumption, type of alcoholic beverage and risk of colorectal cancer at specific subsites

“…With respect to specific alcoholic beverages, epidemiologic studies have reported inconsistent associations with regard to CRC, [10][11][12] cancer risk for the anatomical subsites 11,[13][14][15][16] and sex-specific risk estimates. 15,16 Alcoholic beverages contain many other substances apart from alcohol that may affect CRC risk.…”

“…For example, associations between beer consumption and rectal cancer in men were speculated to be caused by the volatile nitrosamines that were present in beer more than 25 years ago. 10,[17][18][19][20] When considering the anatomical subsites of the colorectum, many investigators have debated the issue whether the proximal and distal colon and the rectum should be considered as a single entity or as distinct ones. Many differences between these anatomical subsites have been described, ranging from different embryological origin and vascular supply to different genetic make-up and varying cancerincidence according to sex.…”