Latest global data on cancer burden and alcohol consumption: More than 740 000 new cases of cancer in 2020 attributed to alcohol

A new study led by scientists from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) shows that an estimated 741 000 new cases of cancer in 2020 were associated with alcohol consumption globally.

These latest data, published in The Lancet Oncology, indicate that although risky and heavy drinking patterns (more than two alcoholic drinks per day) represented the largest cancer burden (86% of the total alcohol-attributable cases), light to moderate drinking (up to two alcoholic drinks per day) represented 1 in 7 alcohol-attributable cases and accounted for more than 100 000 new cancer cases worldwide.

All the results of this study are available on the new Cancers Attributable to Alcohol website, which is part of the Cancer Causes subsite of the IARC Global Cancer Observatory. The database has user-friendly facilities to produce maps and explore visualizations of the global burden of cancer attributable to alcohol consumption by sex, cancer site, and country or world region.

Rumgay H, Shield K, Charvat H, Ferrari P, Sornpaisarn B, Obot I, et al.
Global burden of cancer in 2020 attributable to alcohol consumption: a population-based study
Lancet Oncol, Published online 14 July 2021;
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(21)00279-5

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