MS Speaks

Oncologists Recommend Limiting Alcohol Consumption

By Kelly Young

The American Society of Clinical Oncology is calling for reduced alcohol consumption given that cancer risk rises with increasing use. Even light drinking is associated with increased risk for some cancers.

The statement includes a table that could be used to counsel patients. For instance, "moderate" drinking is associated with cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, larynx, breast, and colorectum.

Among the other recommendations in the statement, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology:

~Clinicians should screen for alcohol use and provide brief interventions.

~Strategies to control alcohol use should be part of a cancer care plan.

~Prices and taxes on alcohol should be increased.

~Alcohol companies should not engage in pink-washing — a practice in which companies use pink ribbons or the color pink to raise awareness for breast cancer — given alcohol's role in breast cancer risk.