Former US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued an advisory in early 2025 warning Americans that alcohol consumption can increase their risk for multiple types of cancer. Surgeon General warnings are uncommon and only used when issues need immediate awareness and action.
In his statement, Murthy said alcohol is the cause for about 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in United States, but the majority of Americans are unaware of the risk. Around 70% of Americans consume alcohol, but a 2019 American Institute for Cancer Research survey showed that only 45% of Americans believed that drinking alcohol causes cancer.
The advisory states that alcohol is the third-leading preventable cause of cancer in the US, behind only tobacco and obesity. There has been a well-established link that alcohol can increase cancer risk for seven different types of cancer:
- Breast
- Colorectal
- Esophagus
- Liver
- Mouth
- Throat
- Voice Box
But how exactly does alcohol cause cancer? Med Center Health Hematologist and Oncologist Dr. Diego Cabrera explains that it can happen in many ways.
“The main mechanism is the alcohol breaks down into acetaldehyde, which damages the DNA in multiple ways and increases the person’s risk of cancer,” said Dr. Cabrera. “DNA damage can make you have mutations, and mutations can end up in cancer. Also, alcohol increases the oxidative stress in your body. Oxidative stress increases the risk of cancer by damaging DNA, proteins, cells, and increasing inflammation. Chronic inflammation is associated with cancer. Finally, alcohol can also alter levels of multiple hormones, including estrogen, which can increase breast cancer risk.”
Alcohol also depletes levels of important nutrients, such as B vitamins and folate, that help protect the body against cancer. Alcohol is also a powerful solvent. When it comes into contact with other carcinogens, like cigarettes, it extracts higher levels of cancer-causing substances from those products and makes their effects even stronger.
The report states a woman who lives to be 80 years old has a roughly 17% chance of developing an alcohol-related cancer over the course of her lifetime, even if she drinks less than one drink per week. That risk rises with the amount of alcohol consumed. Women have a 19% risk of developing an alcohol-related cancer with one drink a day and a nearly 22% risk with two drinks a day.
For men, those same risks are 10% for less than one drink a week, 11% for one drink a day and 13% risk at two daily drinks.
Dr. Cabrera says the biggest way to help solve this issue is awareness and finding alternatives to alcohol.
“Around 80%-90% of Americans know that radiation, asbestos, and tobacco can cause cancer, but the majority don’t realize that obesity and alcohol, two of the largest contributing factors to cancer diagnoses in the US, can give them cancer, as well,” said Dr. Cabrera.
Dr. Cabrera also recommends that people who are interested in cutting down or eliminating alcohol from their life try some of the non-alcoholic beers and drinks that are becoming more popular.
To learn more about the cancer services offered at Med Center Health, visit: MedCenterHealth.org/Cancer.
-submitted by Med Center Health
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