A study has found that cancer deaths in the United States believed to be attributable to drinking have doubled over about 30 years.

ITmedia of Japan reported on Wednesday that a research team including the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami analysed Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data and found alcohol-attributable cancer deaths rose to 23,126 in 2023 from 11,361 in 1990. The study was published in the Lancet Regional Health-Americas.

Gaps by sex and age were also large. In 2023, the age-standardised death rate per 100,000 people was 6.4 for men and 2.1 for women, with men about three times higher. Since 1990, the death rate for men rose 14.3 percent, while it fell 16 percent for women. The death rate for those aged 55 and older was 19.2, about eight times the 2.4 rate for those aged 20 to 54.

By cancer type, in 2023 the highest alcohol-attributable death rate among those aged 55 and older was for liver cancer in men and breast cancer in women. Among those aged 20 to 54, colon cancer was highest in men and breast cancer was highest in women. Liver cancer in particular showed the biggest increase in alcohol-attributable death burden during the study period.

Researchers stressed that the link between alcohol and cancer is not limited to liver cancer. Prior studies have shown that even small amounts of drinking are associated with an increased risk of some cancers. A separate international pooled analysis found an association in which the risk of pancreatic cancer increased by an average of 3 percent for each 10 grams increase in daily alcohol intake. A 350 millilitre can of 5 percent beer contains about 14 grams of alcohol.

The study's death toll is not based on directly confirming an individual's cause of death, but is an estimate using the GBD risk model. Researchers stressed that because drinking is a modifiable cancer risk factor, there is a need to raise awareness of the related risks.