File photo. [AP]
Alcohol-related cancer deaths have surged in recent decades, experts report, even as overall cancer mortality declines. In the US they have nearly doubled over the past three decades, rising from 12,000 in 1990 to more than 23,000 in 2021, despite an overall decline in cancer mortality, experts revealed at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference.
Greek researchers Dr Theodora Psaltopoulou, professor of therapeutics, epidemiology, and preventive medicine at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), biologist Alexandra Stavropoulou, and Professor Thanos Dimopoulos, former NKUA rector and director of the Therapeutics Clinic at Alexandra Hospital, highlight strong links between alcohol and cancers of the liver, colon and esophagus.
Τhe majority of cases in the US were men over 55, who showed a 70% mortality increase.
Public awareness remains low, with only 40% of Americans recognizing alcohol as a cancer risk. Experts urge immediate public health campaigns and alcohol warning labels.