Alcohol Use and Cancer: A Critical Review
Güler Dilara Solmaz1, Hadi Sasani2, Oytun Erbaş1
1ERBAS Institute of Experimental Medicine, Illinois, USA & Gebze, Turkey
2Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Tekirdağ, Turkey
Keywords: Alcohol metabolism, cancer, ethanol, inflammation
Abstract
The risk of cancer in numerous areas of the human body such as the oral cavity, esophagus, liver, stomach, colon, rectum, and breast is increased by alcohol consumption. The products of the metabolism of ethanol, acetaldehyde, and reactive oxygen species, have genotoxic properties. Chronic alcohol usage may also result in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage, inflammation, and methylation. Folate deficiency, which can be caused by extended alcohol use, may have an impact on DNA methylation. The consequences of alcohol (ethanol) on colon and breast cancer were discussed in this review article.
Cite this article as: Solmaz GD, Sasani H, Erbaş O. Alcohol Use and Cancer: A Critical Review. JEB Med Sci 2022;3(2):148-157.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.