Study links low alcohol intake with 50 pc higher chance of mouth cancer

New Delhi, Dec 24 (PTI) A study conducted in India has found that consuming as little as nine grams of alcohol daily can be linked with a 50 per cent higher chance of developing mouth cancer, with the risk sharply rising to 87 per cent for locally brewed liquor.

Researchers from Navi Mumbai's Center for Cancer Epidemiology, among other institutes in India and International Agency for Research on Cancer, France, analysed 1,803 individuals with buccal mucosa (mouth) cancer and 1,903 randomly selected healthy people from across five study centres between 2010 and 2021.

Sixty two per cent of the mouth cancer cases analysed were linked to drinking alcohol and chewing tobacco. Prevalence of mouth cancer in India linked to alcohol was estimated at 11.3 per cent, according to findings published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Global Health.

"The findings show nine grams per day of alcohol increased the risk of (buccal mucosa cancer) by approximately 50 per cent, and 62 per cent of cases could be attributed to alcohol drinking and chewing tobacco, with an overall (population attributable fraction) of 11.3 per cent for India," the authors wrote.

They reported that people consuming alcohol faced a 68 per cent increased risk of mouth cancer, with the risk rising to 72 per cent for those who drank internationally recognised alcohol and 87 per cent for consumers of locally brewed liquor.

Possible contamination with toxins, such as methanol and acetaldehyde, in locally brewed alcohol, might help explain the higher risk associated with the drinks, manufacture of which is largely unregulated, the team suggested.

The researchers said prevalence of use of smokeless tobacco is high -- often accompanied with alcohol consumption -- but it is not clear how much each factor individually contributes to mouth cancer risk, especially in India.

Potential effects of locally brewed alcohol -- particularly popular in rural communities -- also have not been looked at, they added.

Most of the study's participants were aged between 35 and 54. Nearly half of the mouth cancer cases were seen among 25 to 45-year-olds.

As little as under two grams a day of beer was associated with a heightened risk of buccal mucosa cancer.

The findings also suggest that more than 1 in 10 cases (nearly 11.5 per cent) of all mouth cancers in India are attributable to alcohol, rising to 14 per cent in some of the states with a high prevalence of the disease such as Meghalaya, Assam, and Madhya Pradesh, the team said.

"In summary, our study demonstrates that there is no safe limit of alcohol consumption for (mouth cancer) risk," the authors said.

"Our findings suggest that public health action towards prevention of alcohol and tobacco use could largely eliminate (buccal mucosa cancer) from India," they said. PTI KRS KRS MG MG