A paper from the National Institutes of Health in the United
States has evaluated the separate and combined effects of the
frequency of alcohol consumption and the average quantity of
alcohol drunk per occasion and how that relates to mortality
risk from individual cancers as well as all cancers. The
analysis is based on repeated administrations of the National
Health Interview Survey in the US, assessing more than 300,000
subjects who suffered over 8,000 deaths from cancer. The
research reports on total cancer deaths and deaths from lung,
colorectal, prostate, and breast cancers. The overall message of
this analysis is that light to moderate alcohol intake does not
appear to increase the risk of all-site cancer (and light
drinking was shown in this study to be associated with a
significant decrease in risk). Similarly, light to moderate
consumption was not associated with site-specific cancers of the
lung, colorectum, breast, or prostate. As quantity consumed
increased from 1 drink on drinking days to 3 or m