Report: Alcohol May Boost Risk of Cancer

Scientists have discovered that breakdown of alcohol by the body forms a substance that can damage DNA dramatically and increase chances of cancer, with people of Asian descent at a greater risk.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota found that when human body breaks down, or metabolises, the alcohol in beer, wine and hard liquor, one of the substances formed is acetaldehyde, a substance with a chemical backbone that resembles formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen.

Scientists also have known from laboratory experiments that acetaldehyde can cause DNA damage, trigger chromosomal abnormalities in cell cultures and act as an animal carcinogen.
"We now have the first evidence from living human volunteers that acetaldehyde formed after alcohol consumption damages DNA dramatically," Silvia Balbo, who led the study, said.
"Acetaldehyde attaches to DNA in humans - to the genetic material that makes up genes - in a way that results in the formation of a 'DNA adduct.' It's acetaldehyde that latches onto DNA and interferes with DNA activity in a way linked to an increased risk of cancer," Balbo added.
"Alcohol, a lifestyle carcinogen, is metabolised into acetaldehyde inthe mouth, and acetaldehyde is forming DNA adducts, which are known major players in carcinogenesis," Balbo said in a statement..... [The study was presented at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society]