Just one alcoholic drink a day spikes mouth cancer risk by 50 per cent

Drinking even a small amount of alcohol can increase your chances of developing mouth cancer by 50 per cent, according to a new study. 

The research, published in BMJ Global Health, found that having just 9g of alcohol a day—which is just slightly over a standard alcohol unit—can make the likelihood of being diagnosed with the potentially fatal disease soar. 

According to the Mouth Cancer Foundation, 10,825 people in the UK were diagnosed with the disease last year, and it was responsible for 3,637 deaths, more than cervical and testicular cancer combined. 

The study, led by Dr Sharayu Mhatre of the Division of Molecular Epidemiology and Population Genomics, Center for Cancer Epidemiology in Maharashtra, India, wanted to investigate the connection between mouth cancer and alcohol consumption. 

Dr Mhatre's researchers compared 1,803 people with confirmed buccal mucosa (mouth) cancer and 1,903 randomly selected people free of the disease (controls) from five different study centres between 2010 and 2021. 

Most of the participants were aged between 35 and 54; nearly half (around 46 per cent) of mouth cancer cases were among 25 to 45 year olds. 

Each of the participants provided information on the duration, frequency, and type of alcohol they drank from among 11 internationally recognised drinks, including beer, whisky, vodka, rum and flavoured alcoholic drinks, like Bacardi Breezers and alcopops. 

As the study used participants from India, it also looked at 30 locally brewed drinks which are not commonly available in Western nations. 

Among the cases with mouth cancer, 1,019 said they didn't drink alcohol compared with 1,420 among the control group who did not have the disease. 

Similarly, 781 of the mouth cancer cases said they did drink alcohol compared with 481 of the controls. 

Dr Mhatre's team concluded that frequent alcohol consumption was associated with a heightened risk of buccal mucosa cancer, but locally brewed drinks were associated with the greatest risk.

Compared with those who didn't drink alcohol, the risk was 68 per cent higher for those who did drink, rising to 72 per cent for those favouring internationally recognised alcohol types, and to 87 per cent for those opting for locally brewed drinks.

As little as under 2 g a day of beer was associated with a heightened risk of buccal mucosa cancer. 

Worryingly, just 9 g a day of alcohol—equivalent to around one standard drink—was associated with an approximately 50 per cent increased risk.

The researchers also tried to establish if there was a connection between alcohol and chewing tobacco use, and any subsequent risk of developing mouth cancer. 

The study focused on chewing tobacco, which in India is most commonly taken in the form of paan, a mix of betel nut, tobacco and spices wrapped in a leaf. 

It has been used for centuries by some communities as a palate cleanser or breath freshener.  

Participants were asked about their tobacco use, including how long they have used it for, and the type favoured. 

The average length of tobacco use was higher for people with mouth cancer, around 21 years, compared to the cancer-free control group, which was around 18 years. 

After crunching the numbers, the researchers concluded that both drinking alcohol and using chewing tobacco was associated with a more than quadrupling in risk. 

However, it was alcohol that was the major contributing factor to the heightened risk of mouth cancer irrespective of how long tobacco had been used. 

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The team wrote that ethanol—the active ingredient in alcohol made from fermenting sugars with yeast—might alter the fat content of the inner lining of the mouth. 

If this was the case, it could make the skin thinner, and increase the likelihood of it absorbing to other potential carcinogens from chewing tobacco products. 

They conclude: 'In summary, our study demonstrates that there is no safe limit of alcohol consumption for [buccal mucosa cancer] risk.'  

Previous research that showed head and neck cancers — including those affecting the mouth and throat — have surged by more than a third in Britain since the early 90s.

Experts say the surge is mostly driven by diagnoses of younger people in their 40s and 50s. 

Smoking, alcohol and human papillomavirus (HPV) — a normally harmless virus that is spread sexually and through skin contact — are the primary causes. 

In the UK, it is estimated that 70 per cent of cases of mouth and throat cancers are caused by HPV, according to Cancer Research UK. 

And experts suggest oral sex could be partly to blame for the rise in types of the virus-driven disease that affect the throat and mouth.