Gene Boosts Drinkers' Colon Cancer Risk
FRIDAY, Dec. 19 (HealthDay News) -- About a fifth of white Americans carry a gene mutation that leaves them at higher risk of colon cancer if they become chronic drinkers, a new study finds.
"If people drink alcohol chronically and have a certain genetic background, then they have an increased risk for large intestinal cancer -- colorectal cancer -- if they drink over a certain amount of alcohol every day," explained study co-author Dr. Helmut K. Seitz, a professor of medicine at Heidelberg University in Heidelberg, Germany.
Seitz and his colleagues were expected to publish their findings in the March issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. The study was posted online Dec. 19.
Describing his team's work, Seitz said scientists have long known that chronic drinking ups risks for a wide range of cancers including breast, liver, esophageal and laryngeal malignancies.
In fact, the American Cancer Society already recommends limiting alcohol consumption to no more than one or two drinks per day for women and men, respectively, as a means of reducing overall cancer risk.
The new study focused on colon cancer.
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