Fears over women dying for a drink

Soaring liver cancer rate blamed on booze

WOMEN in Scotland are paying an ever more deadly price for their fondness for alcohol.

New figures show a massive increase in the number of females dying from liver cancer which has been linked to heavy drinking.

Over the past decade – as women’s consumption of alcohol has increased steadily – deaths from the cancer have soared by almost a third.

And the alarming rise comes at a time when fatalities from many other forms of cancer have fallen dramatically.

Last night experts warned there was a direct link between women’s higher alcohol consumption and the soaring death rates.

Figures recently published by NHS statistics agency ISD Scotland show the overall number of deaths from liver and bile duct cancer rose by 28 per cent from 337 in 2002 to 431 in 2012.

Among women, liver cancer deaths rose 29 per cent from 142 to 182.

By contrast, the number of women dying from breast cancer over the same period fell nearly 18 per cent from 1,296 to 1,063 and deaths from ovarian cancer fell 17 per cent from 463 to 383.

Dr Peter Rice, chair of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems said: ‘Most liver cancers in Scotland are in people with sclerosis of the liver – the two things go hand-in-hand. Eighty-five per cent of chronic liver disease – including cancer – is alcohol-related so that is the big factor.’

The former NHS consultant added that it was the overall alcohol load being put on the liver that was important – not whether it was binge or steady drinking.

‘Women are the fastest growing number of cases. That is to do with the physiological composition – women have a lower percentage of body water, so effectively alcohol becomes more concentrated in the blood stream and that is the reason women are more susceptible to develop alcohol-related diseases per unit than men.’

Sarah Williams, of Cancer Research UK, said the rapid rise in liver cancer deaths was worrying and survival rates were among the lowest of any cancer.

Dr Evelyn Gillan, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland backed calls for minimum pricing, adding: ‘Drinking alcohol increases the risk of developing cancer of the breast, mouth, throat, larynx, oesophagus, bowel and liver. Cutting down on alcohol is likely to reduce your cancer risk.’

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said the figures were ‘a damning legacy’ on decades of alcohol overindulgence.

‘It can take years to turn these figures around, which is why the Scottish Government needs to get moving on its alcohol policies. But people have to take responsibility for their own behaviour.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said they were spending £30 million on a cancer early-detection programme. They were also determined to tackle Scotland’s unhealthy relationship with alcohol and the policy of a minimum price per unit formed an important part of tackling the problem.