每天半升啤酒，癌症几率上升20%

西西

Drinking one pint of beer, a large glass of wine or a couple of measures of spirits a day increases the risk of liver and bowel cancers by a fifth, a health expert warned yesterday.
Dr Rachel Thompson, science programme manager for World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), says two units of alcohol a day increases the risk of bowel cancer by 18% and the risk of liver cancer by 20%. "When you consider how many cases of these types of cancer are diagnosed in the UK every year, it is clear that drinking even relatively small amounts of alcohol can make a significant difference," she said.
"Yet despite strong evidence, most people still do not know that alcohol increases risk of cancer, so it is clear we need to do more to get this message across."
Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK, with more than 36,500 people diagnosed with it every year and around 16,000 dying from it. In addition, more than 3,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with liver cancer each year and a similar number die. According to the WCRF, there is also convincing evidence that drinking alcohol also increases the risk of breast cancer and cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx and oesophagus.
The charity recommends not drinking alcohol at all in order to prevent cancer but, if people do drink, it says they should limit it to two units a day for a man or one for a woman. One unit equals half a pint of normal strength beer, lager or cider, one 25ml single measure of spirits, or one 125ml small glass of wine.
Government recommendations are that men should not regularly drink more than three to four units of alcohol per day and women should not regularly drink more than two to three units.
Previous studies have shown that modest amounts of alcohol may have a protective effect when it comes to heart disease. But Thompson said this was only relevant for people at particular risk of heart disease, such as men aged over 40 and postmenopausal women.
A spokes man for the Department of Health said: "We recognise the risks of cancer arising from alcohol consumption. In some cases, these begin to rise at or below the government's guideline levels for regular consumption.
"As the WCRF notes, health advice on regular alcohol consumption takes account of a wide range of conditions, including a protective effect for heart disease in men over 40 and post-menopausal women. This study appears to be broadly consistent with known estimated risks, though we look forward to examining it in more detail."


一位健康专家昨天指出，每天喝一品脱的啤酒，一大杯的葡萄酒，或几量杯的烈酒会增加至20%的患肝癌和肠癌风险。
医生蕾切尔 汤马斯，世界癌症研究基金会科研项目会长说，每天2单位的酒精患肠癌跟肝癌的风险分别会增加至18%和20%。“如果你还在考虑说每年英国可以诊断出多少例这种类型的癌症，那么可以很明确的告诉你，即使是相对少量的酒精也可以引起导致极大的差别，”她说。
“虽然没有有力的证据证明，但大多数人都不知道酒精会增加患癌症的风险，所以很明显的，我们需要做更多的努力让人们知道这个讯息。”
肠癌是英国内第3大常见癌症，每年超过36，500人被诊断出患有肠癌，且其中16，000人死于肠癌。此外，每年英国超过3，0000人被诊断出肝癌，且基本相同数字的人死于肝癌。据世界癌症基金会调查，有力证据显示引用酒精，也会增加罹患乳癌，和口，咽，喉，食管方面癌症的风险。
慈善团体推荐人们不要饮用酒精以防止癌症，但如果，真的要喝的话，那么应该限制在每天男性2单位，女性1单位的量上。1单位等于一半品脱一般浓度的啤酒，贮藏啤酒或苹果酒，一25ml力弱的烈酒，或一125ml小杯葡萄酒。
官方推荐，男性不应长期每天喝超过3或4单位酒精，女性不应长期每天喝超过2到3单位酒精。
先前的研究显示适度的酒精可以抑制心脏病的发生。但是汤马森说，这研究结果仅仅适用于有特殊罹患心脏病风险的人群，比如说，超过40岁的男性和已绝经的女性。
一位健康部发言人说：我们认为罹患癌症的风险随酒精消费量增高。一些情况下这些可能高于或低于政府的官方声明的标准消费量水平。
“正如世界癌症基金会提到，对于常规酒精消费的健康建议，要考虑到很广泛的条件，包括对超过40的男性和已绝经的女性心脏病的抑制作用。这个研究看来被广泛的认为具有评估风险，尽管我们期待能在更多的细节上测试这项研究。”