Drinking alcohol can lead to esophageal cancer, and the more alcohol you drink, the higher the risk of esophageal cancer
Alcohol consumption can lead to esophageal cancer.
In the process of drinking alcohol, especially high alcohol, the alcohol comes into direct contact with the esophageal mucosa, which can cause damage to the esophageal mucosa, and repeated damage can increase the chance of cancer. The most important thing is that it is the acetaldehyde that has been “transformed” by the alcohol.
When alcohol enters the body, it is metabolized by the enzyme ethanol dehydrogenase into acetaldehyde, a class 1 carcinogen that can cause many cancers, including esophageal cancer, by directly damaging the body’s DNA and inducing oncogene mutations.
A survey that included 160,000 people found that alcohol can increase the risk of esophageal cancer by 1.92 times. The amount of alcohol consumed and the risk of esophageal cancer were related, and those who consumed more than 24 grams of alcohol per day (about the alcohol content of one and a half bottles of beer, nearly half bottles of red wine, and one and a half bottles of white wine) had a significantly higher risk of esophageal cancer, and the more alcohol consumed, the higher the risk of esophageal cancer.
1+1>7, multiple factors contribute to each other, and esophageal cancer risk is even higher
Alcohol and some factors also have a mutually reinforcing effect, such as genetic polymorphisms (such as the gene for blushing easily after drinking), smoking, oral bacteria and folic acid deficiency, and the combination of these factors can contribute to an even higher risk of esophageal cancer.
One study showed that drinking alone and smoking alone increased the risk of esophageal cancer by 1.9 times and 1.7 times, respectively, and that drinking and smoking together increased the risk of esophageal cancer by a whopping 7.86 times! That’s 1+1>7.
Drinking alcohol when you have esophageal cancer increases the risk of death by 96%
Alcohol not only increases the risk of esophageal cancer, but alcohol also makes the prognosis worse for people with esophageal cancer. The results of one study showed that drinkers survived worse than nondrinkers after developing esophageal cancer, and that the risk of death increased by 96% for esophageal cancer patients who drank alcohol compared with nondrinkers. Therefore, for the sake of hard-earned treatment results, it is recommended that patients with esophageal cancer begin to stop drinking today.