IARC released a monograph on alcohol consumption in 2010 (Vol 96). This monograph was prepared by a working group comprising 27 members drawn from reputed labs of 16 different countries. The monograph focused on beer, wine and spirits (whiskey, brandy, rum, vodka, Scotch and Gin etc..). Working Group concluded that acetaldehyde, the primary metabolite of ethanol, is the carcinogen that leads to the formation of various type of cancer. Working Group concluded that a large body of evidence from epidemiological studies of different design and conducted in different populations consistently shows that consumption of alcoholic beverages is associated with a higher risk for both oral and pharyngeal cancer, and that the risk increases with increasing amounts of alcohol consumed. Compared with non-drinkers, regular consumption of about 50 g alcohol (ethanol) per day (equivalent to about 150 ml of distilled spirits) is associated with an approximately threefold increase in risk oral and pharyngeal cancer cancers, two-fold increase in laryngeal & esophagus cancer. These studies provide firm evidence that the consumption of alcoholic beverages are an independent risk factor for primary liver cancer. The working group found sufficient evidence in experimental animals for the carcinogenicity of ethanol and acetaldehyde (the ethanol metabolite).
The working group gave an overall evaluation as follows,
· Alcoholic beverages are carcinogenic to humans (Group 1).
·
Ethanol in alcoholic beverages is carcinogenic to
humans (Group 1).
As per the
data presented in the same IARC monograph, in Eastern European block countries (Belarus,
Estonia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Republic of Moldova, Russian
Federation, Ukraine), 63.7 % men consume more than 40 g of pure alcohol (in the form of alcoholic beverages) per day. Incidence
of cancer in that bloc is supposed to be substantially higher compared to other
regions. However, the data presented in the same monograph doesn’t provide the
evidence for the same. This appears to be a serious anomaly.
