别怪我扫兴,但喝酒真的致癌
It's official: Alcohol causes cancer. That's what a study by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) says. In a recent episode of Good Morning America, Dr. Jennifer Ashton said "this is really the first time that the country's top group of top cancer doctors issued this statement really to increase awareness about the fact that we know alcohol is a carcinogen, which means it is known to cause cancer." But here's the real news The fact that alcohol consumption increases the chance of a cancer diagnosis does not come as a surprise to the medical world. The knowledge has been available for years, but awareness has remained relatively low. For instance, check out this clip from Good Morning America from way back in 2010. The segment is specifically centered around actor Michael Douglas' throat cancer diagnosis and its link with alcohol. Despite past media coverage, a supplemental survey by the ASCO shows that most Americans still have no idea that alcohol poses such a threat. According to the survey, only 30 percent of Americans can identify alcohol consumption as a risk factor associated with cancer. That statistic comes from over 4,000 American adults who participated in the survey. Most participants were able to identify other widely accepted risk factors, such as tobacco use and sun exposure, but for the most part, the booze slipped between the cracks. What kind of cancer are we talking? Well, according to the study, alcohol increases the risk of several different types of cancer. "Alcohol is causally associated with oropharyngeal and larynx cancer, esophageal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, breast cancer, and colon cancer," the study says, adding that the evidence also points convincingly at liver cancer. The study cites research showing that in 2012, about 5.8 percent of all cancer-caused deaths (worldwide) could be traced back to alcohol use. "The more that a person drinks, and the longer the period of time, the greater their risk of development of cancer, especially head and neck cancers," the study says. It doesn't matter whether your drink is a draft beer, wine, tequila shots or martinis, the risks are the same: If there's alcohol in it, it's not good. What does come into play, though, is the quantity of the beverage you drink. |