Alcohol increases risk of cancer

Study suggests drinking can damage DNA

Drinking alcohol raises the risk of cancer by damaging DNA, scientists have discovered, leading health experts to call for people to cut down on their consumption.

Alcohol is believed to contribute to more than 12,000 cases of cancer each year in Britain, but nobody knew why it was so harmful.

Now a study by the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology at Cambridge University has found that when the body processes alcohol, it produces acetaldehyde, a chemical harmful to DNA.

The damage happens in blood stem cells, which create the red and white blood cells that carry oxygen through the body and help fight infections.

The researchers found that acetaldehyde snaps the DNA of stem cells, permanently altering the genetic code and triggering cancer.

Experts and charities described the findings, which were reported in the journal Nature, as “very important” and urged people to drink less.

Linda Bauld, Cancer Research U.K.’s expert on cancer prevention, said: “This thought-provoking research highlights the damage alcohol can do to our cells, costing some people more than just a hangover.”

Alcohol is linked to seven types of cancer: liver, breast, bowel, upper throat, mouth, esophageal and larynx.

To find out how alcohol damages the body, scientists gave diluted alcohol to mice then sequenced their DNA and analyzed their chromosomes. They discovered that alcohol causes genetic breaks that rearrange chromosomes, and alter the DNA blueprint which keeps the body healthy.

Ketan Patel, the lead author of the study, said: “Some cancers develop due to DNA damage in stem cells. While some damage occurs by chance, our findings suggest that drinking alcohol can increase the risk of this damage.”

Magdalena ZernickaGoetz, a professor at the University of Cambridge, said: “This is beautiful work which puts our finger on the molecular basis for the link between alcohol and increased cancer risk and stem cells. Very important.”

Malcolm Alison, from the Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, added: “Drinkers beware: most of our organs and tissues have stem cells, immortal cells that replenish cells lost through the likes of old age throughout our lives, and the hematopoietic (blood stem cell), system is no exception.”

Robin Lovell-Badge, group leader at the Francis Crick Institute, said: “DNA damage leads to cell death, if unchecked, but it also triggers mechanisms that act to repair the broken DNA, allowing the cells to survive. However, if the DNA is repaired incorrectly this can lead to cancer.”