Here’s the Exact Number of Alcoholic Drinks That Doubles Your Risk of Colorectal Cancer

NEED TO KNOW

• Researchers have pinpointed exactly how many alcoholic drinks increase your risk of developing colon cancer

• The research comes amid a rise in colorectal cancer cases among people younger than 50

• Quitting drinking may lower the risk of developing adenomas, which are precancerous polyps in the colon

New research has pinpointed exactly how many alcoholic drinks increase your risk of developing colorectal cancer.

People who drank an average of 14 drinks a week — or two per day — had a 25% higher chance of rectal cancer, and 95% higher chance of developing colon cancer, according to research published in the journal Cancer. Researchers used data from more than 88,000 adults who were enrolled in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial, and found that people who were consistent heavy drinkers had double the risk of developing colorectal cancer as their counterparts who only engaged in light drinking.

“The longer someone drinks, the longer their colon and rectum are exposed [to] damage and impaired repair, both major mechanisms of cancer,” Dr. Lynn O’Connor, Mercy Medical Center and St. Joseph Hospital’s section chief of colon and rectal surgery, told ABC News. Former Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said that alcohol should have cancer warnings, as it causes nearly 100,000 cancer cases and approximately 20,000 cancer deaths every year.

The alcohol study comes amid an ongoing rise in colon cancer, as more young people are being diagnosed with the disease. Year over year, the number of people younger than 50 diagnosed with colon cancer increases by nearly 3%, the American Cancer Society says — as rates of colon cancer in those over 50 drop, largely due to early screening via colonoscopy.

Colorectal cancer, which typically affects older adults, “begins as small clumps of cells called polyps that form inside the colon,” according to the Mayo Clinic. Polyps usually don’t show symptoms, which is why regular screening tests to find and remove polyps can prevent disease. And while not all polyps will become cancer, “finding and removing polyps helps prevent colon cancer,” the Mayo Clinic says.

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Adenomas are a type of polyp in the colon that are considered precancerous. As the American Cancer Society points out, a polyp can take up to 15 years to turn into cancer, so “with a colonoscopy, doctors can find and remove polyps before they have the chance to turn into cancer.”

But there is good news for heavy drinkers — if they quit alcohol. Researchers say “drinking cessation may lower nonadvanced adenoma risk, whereas heavy drinking may increase adenoma risk.”

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