Abstract

Background: There may be a weak association between total alcohol intake and colorectal cancer but the effect of different types of alcohol and effect on colon subsites have not been investigated satisfactorily.

Aims: To investigate the relationship between amount and type of alcohol and the risk of colon and rectal cancer.

Subjects: A population based cohort study with baseline assessment of weekly intake of beer, wine, and spirits, smoking habits, body mass index, educational level, and leisure time physical activity in Copenhagen, Denmark. The study included a random sample of 15 491 men and 13 641 women, aged 23–95 years. Incident cases of colorectal cancer were identified in the nationwide Danish Cancer Register.

Results: During a mean follow up of 14.7 years, we observed 411 colon cancers and 202 rectal cancers. We observed a dose-response relationship between alcohol and rectal cancer. Drinkers of more than 41 drinks a week had a relative risk of rectal cancer of 2.2 (95% confidence limits 1.0–4.6) compared with non-drinkers. Drinkers of more than 14 drinks of beer and spirits a week, but not wine, had a risk of 3.5 (1.8–6.9) of rectal cancer compared with non-drinkers, while those who drank the same amount of alcohol but including more than 30% of wine had a risk of 1.8 (1.0–3.2) of rectal cancer. No relation between alcohol and colon cancer was found when investigating the effects of total alcohol, beer, wine, and spirits, and percentage of wine of total alcohol intake.

Conclusion: Alcohol intake is associated with a significantly increased risk of rectal cancer but the risk seems to be reduced when wine is included in the alcohol intake.