Overview
- People averaging 14 or more drinks per week over their lifetime had a 25% higher risk of colorectal cancer versus those averaging less than one drink weekly.
- Rectal cancer risk was nearly doubled among those with higher average lifetime intake, showing the strongest site-specific association.
- Consistent heavy drinking across adulthood was linked to about a 91% higher colorectal cancer risk compared with consistent light drinking.
- The analysis drew on 88,092 U.S. adults in the NCI PLCO screening trial with 1,679 colorectal cancer cases identified over roughly two decades of follow-up.
- Former drinkers showed no increased colorectal cancer risk and had lower odds of nonadvanced adenomas than current light drinkers, though the observational, self-reported data carry limitations and proposed mechanisms require further study.