Alcohol and cancer

Drinking alcohol causes at least seven types of cancer, including breast, bowel, mouth and throat cancers.^1,2

Not everyone who drinks alcohol will get cancer, but research shows that seven types of cancer are caused by alcohol.³

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.⁴

Around 17,000 new cancer cases in the UK were attributed to drinking alcohol in 2020.⁵

Heavy drinking can also cause cirrhosis of the liver (where damage to the liver causes scar tissue to build up) which can then lead to cancer.⁶

Alcohol and cancer

Drinking alcohol has been identified as something that can cause seven types of cancer:^7,8

• Breast cancer
• Bowel cancer
• Mouth cancer
• Food pipe (oesophageal) cancer
• Upper throat (pharyngeal) cancer
• Voice box (laryngeal cancer)
• Liver cancer

Drinking and smoking

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.^9,10

People who both drink alcohol and smoke have a five-fold increased risk of developing cancers of the mouth, throat, voice box and food pipe compared to people who only either drink alcohol or smoke. For heavy users of both alcohol and smoking, the risk is up to 30 times higher.¹¹

Why does alcohol cause cancer?

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

Acetaldehyde¹²

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 hormones¹³

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 themselves

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.¹⁴

Alcohol can also reduce levels of one of your body’s natural defences – retinoic acid – which is important for protecting cells against cancer.¹⁵

Alcohol and cancer treatment

If you’re undergoing treatment for cancer, it’s possible that drinking alcohol could interfere with this treatment.¹⁶ You should speak to the health professional who is providing your treatment for further advice or information.

How to reduce your risk

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.¹⁷

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.¹⁸

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.¹⁹

Bowel cancer is one of the most common types of cancer and one of the seven types of cancer caused by alcohol.²⁰

Find out more about Alcohol and bowel cancer

How to stay in control of your drinking

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

1. 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.
2. Drink-free days: 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.
3. Find out what’s in your drink: use our Unit and Calorie Calculator below to find out how many units are in your drinks 

External links

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.