Alcohol and cancer

Alcohol increases your risk of developing at least seven types of cancer

Drinking alcohol causes at least seven types of cancer, including breast, bowel, mouth and throat cancers.¹

Not everyone who drinks alcohol will get cancer, but scientists have found that several cancers, including the seven listed on this page, are caused by drinking alcohol - with the risk increasing the more you drink.

The risk of developing these types of cancer starts to increase even at low levels of drinking. So the less you drink, the more you reduce your risk.

It’s estimated that between 3-4 out of every 100 cases of cancer in the UK are caused by alcohol. That’s somewhere between 11,500 – 12,500 new cases every year.²

Alcohol and cancer

Drinking alcohol has been identified as something that can cause seven types of cancer:³

Heavy drinking can also cause cirrhosis of the liver (where damage to the liver causes scar tissues to build up) which can then lead to cancer.

Drinking and smoking combined lead to a greater risk of some cancers

If you drink alcohol and you’re a smoker too, this increases your risk of developing throat, mouth, food pipe and bowel cancers, more than doing either on their own.

People who use both alcohol and tobacco have a five-fold increased risk of developing cancers of the mouth, throat, voice box and food pipe compared to people who use either alcohol or tobacco alone. For heavy users, the risk is up to 30 times higher.⁴

Why does alcohol cause cancer

There are many ways that alcohol can cause cancer, including:

Acetaldehyde⁵
When you drink, the alcohol in your body is converted into a chemical called acetaldehyde, which is toxic when it gets inside the body. This can damage your DNA (the genetic material that makes up our genes) and stop your cells from repairing that damage, which can lead to cancer.

Although the main area your body processes (or ‘metabolises’) alcohol is the liver, the cells in your mouth (and even the naturally occurring bacteria in your mouth) can metabolise alcohol, leading to an accumulation of acetaldehyde.

Changes in hormones⁶
Alcohol can increase the levels of some hormones in the body, such as oestrogen, which is linked to breast cancer.

Changes to how your cells protect themselves⁷
Alcohol can affect the cells in various parts of the body, such as in the mouth and throat, making it easier for other carcinogens (substances that cause cancer) to be absorbed into the body.⁸

Alcohol can also reduce levels of one of your body’s natural defences - retinoic acid – which is important for protecting cells against cancer.⁹

How to keep your risk of cancer low

If you choose to drink, to keep health risks from alcohol low it's safest for both men and women to drink no more than 14 units a week, spread over three or more days with several drink-free days, and no bingeing.

To keep your risk of cancer low, it’s also important not to smoke, to make sure you are getting enough exercise (aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate activity a day, five days a week), maintain a healthy weight, eat a balanced diet and protect yourself from the sun.¹⁰

However, for cancers, we know that drinking even at lower levels (for example, below 14 units per week) can increase your risk. Put simply, this means the less you drink the lower your cancer risk from alcohol.

How to drink less

Staying in control of your drinking

If you choose to drink, you can keep your risk low by drinking less than the recommended UK low risk drinking guidelines. Here are four ways you can cut back

Find out what's in your drinks

Calculate unit and calories for one or more drinks.

Unit and Calorie Calculator

Keep track of what you’re drinking

Think you might be drinking too much? The free MyDrinkaware app can tell you. It can also help you cut down.

Download the app

Know your strength

Alcoholic drinks labels will have the abbreviation “ABV” which stands for Alcohol By Volume, or sometimes just the word “vol”. It shows the percentage of your drink that’s pure alcohol – choose a lower percentage, and there will be less alcohol in the same sized drink.

What's an alcohol unit?

Have several drink-free days a week

If you want to cut down, a great way is to have several drink-free days a week. We have lots of advice on how you can give it a try yourself, and the positive results you can expect.

Ideas for Drink-free days

Alcohol and cancer treatment

If you’re undergoing treatment for cancer, it’s possible that drinking alcohol could interfere with this treatment.¹¹ You should speak to the health professional who is providing your treatment for further advice or information.

Further information

For advice on cancer-related issues, Cancer Research UK offer patient information on their website, or you can contact their nurse helpline between 9am–5pm, Monday–Friday using freephone 0808 800 4040, or send a question online.

If you’re worried about your drinking, get in touch with your local GP surgery, who will be able to help.  

You can also search for alcohol support services in your area using the below links:  

England   
Northern Ireland    
Scotland  
Wales

 If you’re simply looking to speak to someone on the phone or chat online for more advice on your own or someone else’s drinking, get in touch with Drinkchat or Drinkline.  

Drinkchat is a free online chat service with trained advisors offering confidential advice. The service is available from 9am-2pm on weekdays.  

Drinkline is a free, confidential helpline available from 9am – 8pm on weekdays, and 11am – 4pm at the weekend. Call 0300 123 1110.   

Alcoholics Anonymous

If you need help with a drinking problem you can phone the national Alcoholics Anonymous helpline on 0800 917 7650 or email help@alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk. You can also find out more information on their website.

We Are With You (formerly Addaction)

For help and advice visit the We Are With You website. To find your nearest service in England or Scotland, visit the Service Finder section of their website.