Is there a link between alcohol and skin cancer?

Patients are always elated when you can recommend an enjoyable, health-improving, recreational activity. As a runner, my favorite “prescription” while pregnant was exercise! However, more often than not, pleasurable activities are not what’s best for one’s health. But as a dermatologist who specializes in skin cancer, I am generally the bearer of bad news when I tell patients to never get another tan. This November, alcohol came into the spotlight. The Cancer Prevention Committee of the American Society of Clinical Oncology recommended minimizing drinking alcohol, as it is thought to be a “modifiable risk factor for cancer.” Alcohol is estimated to be responsible for 3.5% of all cancer deaths in the United States. Does alcohol influence skin cancer risk? The short answer is that alcohol may be associated with skin cancer. Several studies have tried to answer this very question with varying results. However, two meta-analyses, which combine results from a number of other studies, found that alcohol intake was associated with the development of basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma (the two most common types of skin cancer) and melanoma. One of the studies found that the risk of basal cell carcinoma increased by 7% and squamous cell carcinoma increased by 11% for every 10-gram increase in intake of alcohol in distilled spirit form (or one standard beer or small glass of wine) each day. Another study found a 20% increase in melanoma in drinkers (compared t...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Cancer Health Healthy Eating Prevention Source Type: blogs