Even an occasional drink could be putting you at risk. (© Paolese - stock.adobe.com)

In a Nutshell

Breast cancer dominates: Nearly 40% of the 62 studies reviewed found links between alcohol and breast cancer, making it the most common alcohol-related cancer

No beverage is safer: Results varied, but beer, wine, and spirits all showed cancer connections in multiple studies; the type of drink doesn’t eliminate risk

Moderate drinking matters: Even a few drinks per week showed elevated cancer risk across studies; heavier and more frequent drinking increased risk further

Policy gap: Despite alcohol being classified as a Group 1 carcinogen, warning labels and public health messaging rarely mention cancer risk

A new analysis of 62 studies delivers an unsettling message for Americans who drink: alcohol consumption is consistently tied to breast, colorectal, and liver cancer. Data from tens of millions of American adults showed a link to breast cancer in nearly 40 percent of all studies reviewed. This makes it the single most common cancer associated with drinking.

Published in Cancer Epidemiology, the review found results by beverage type were mixed. Some studies found links across beer, wine, and spirits, while others found wine or beer stood out more than liquor. In a few cases, there was no clear difference between beverage types. Colorectal cancer was the second most frequently identified cancer in 13 studies, while liver cancer appeared in 10.

Heavy drinkers aren’t the only ones at risk. People who drink “moderate” amounts (a few drinks per week) also showed elevated cancer risk across all three cancer types. Risk tended to rise as drinking increased. While findings at very low levels were sometimes mixed across studies, the overall pattern leans toward “less is better.”

A glass of wine every night isn’t as harmless as you might think. (Photo by Big Dodzy on Unsplash) How Researchers Found the Alcohol and Cancer Connection

Researchers searched major medical databases for any U.S.-based research examining connections between alcohol consumption and cancer risk in adults 18 and older, published between January 2015 and June 2025. After reviewing thousands of potential studies and removing duplicates, they identified 62 studies that met their criteria. Sample sizes ranged from 80 participants to nearly 100 million, giving researchers access to data on tens of millions of American adults.

The review included different types of studies. Some followed people over time, while others compared groups with and without cancer. The review also covered many other cancer types, including head and neck, esophageal, gastric, and melanoma, though results weren’t always the same across every cancer type. Interestingly, some studies found alcohol was associated with reduced risk of glioma (a type of brain tumor) and multiple myeloma.

The pattern across most studies was clear: more drinking was linked with more risk. Both quantity (how much) and frequency (how often) mattered. There’s no universally agreed-upon safe amount where alcohol becomes harmless.

Who Faces the Greatest Alcohol and Cancer Risk

Race and ethnicity emerged as the most frequently mentioned individual risk factor, appearing in 46 of the 62 papers reviewed. Age came in second, mentioned in 42 studies. Certain population groups face disproportionate risk due to factors like healthcare access, socioeconomic status, and genetic variations in how the body processes alcohol.

People with higher socioeconomic status tend to drink more alcohol overall, but those with lower socioeconomic status experience worse outcomes when they do drink, facing barriers like reduced access to quality healthcare. Racial and ethnic minorities, people experiencing homelessness, and those with mental health conditions all face greater alcohol-related health consequences.

Alcohol consumption often comes bundled with other health problems that could further increase cancer risk. Obesity showed up in eight studies, alcoholic liver disease in five studies, and diabetes in four. These interconnected health issues create a web of risk factors that amplify each other over time.

People Don’t Know About The Alcohol-Cancer Connection

The strong link between alcohol and breast cancer appeared in nearly 40 percent of the studies. In many cases, the connection held regardless of beverage type, though some research found wine specifically increased risk for certain cancers.

Despite being classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, alcohol remains one of the most commonly used substances in the United States. Many Americans don’t know about alcohol’s cancer risk or underestimate how their drinking habits might affect long-term health.

Current public health policies around alcohol, such as taxes on alcoholic beverages and limits on liquor store density, rarely mention cancer risk in their messaging. People make decisions about alcohol consumption without complete information about the health consequences.

Many women simply aren’t aware that alcohol carries such a strong link to breast cancer. (© okrasiuk – stock.adobe.com) There’s No ‘Safe’ Level Of Alcohol Consumption

Alcohol is what researchers call a “leading modifiable risk factor” for cancer. Unlike genetics or age, it’s something people can change. But change requires accurate information about what drinking habits mean for health.

The research delivers a straightforward message: less is better when it comes to cancer risk. An occasional drink might not dramatically spike an individual’s risk, but in many studies, regular drinking (even moderate amounts) was linked with higher cancer rates over time.

Questions naturally follow. Should alcohol packaging carry cancer warnings? Should doctors routinely screen patients for alcohol use and discuss cancer risk? This research makes these questions harder to ignore.

The bottom line: Americans deserve honest information about how their drinking habits affect their health. With that knowledge, they can decide for themselves whether the next drink is worth the risk.

Paper Notes Study Limitations

This systematic review has several important limitations that readers should keep in mind when interpreting the findings. First, the researchers focused exclusively on descriptive, observational, qualitative, and experimental studies, which means they excluded case reports, letters to the editor, published conference abstracts, and grey literature. Some relevant evidence may not have been captured as a result, though the researchers worked with an experienced librarian to develop a comprehensive search strategy to minimize omissions.

Second, the 62 studies included in the review varied substantially in their population characteristics, study procedures, and definitions of what constitutes different levels of alcohol consumption. This variation makes it difficult to compare studies directly and limits the uniformity of the data. While researchers used the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklist to assess study quality and reduce bias, differences in methods across studies remain a consideration.

Third, the inclusion and exclusion criteria limited findings to at-risk populations within the United States. While this focus provides valuable insights about American adults specifically, it may limit how well these findings apply to other countries and excludes potentially relevant international research.

Fourth, more evidence is needed to distinguish between independent risk factors related to alcohol consumption and confounding factors when examining associations with cancer development over time. For example, people who drink alcohol frequently may also have other risk factors like smoking or poor diet that contribute to cancer risk. Teasing apart these interconnected factors requires careful statistical analysis and, in some cases, more targeted research designs.

Funding and Disclosures

The authors did not receive any form of funding to complete this work. All authors have declared that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the research reported in this paper.

Publication Details

Authors: Isabella Abraham, Gabriella Dasilva, Kayla Ernst, Alexandra Campson, Alana Starr, Christine Kamm, George Kosseifi, Morgan Decker, Tiffany Follin, Christine Ramdin, Maria Mejia, Sahar Kaleem, Nada Eldawy, Paige Brinzo, Lewis S. Nelson, Lea Sacca

Journal: Cancer Epidemiology, Volume 99 (2025), Article 102956 | Publication Date: Available online November 13, 2025 | DOI: 10.1016/j.canep.2025.102956 | Study Registration: The study protocol was registered in PROSPERO at https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO (ID: CRD420251075153)

Corresponding Author: Lea Sacca oversaw the project and provided supervision, conceptualization, validation, and review of the final manuscript. Multiple co-authors contributed to methodology, data curation, formal analysis, and writing of the original draft. All authors reviewed and agreed on the final version of the manuscript.