The Alcohol-Cancer Link Is 'Strong,' One Expert Warns

In a commentary section of the journal Addiction called “For Debate,” a New Zealand researcher warns that alcohol has been strongly linked to at least seven different types of cancer.

Jennie Connor, an epidemiologist and the author of the commentary, reviewed epidemiological and biological research on alcohol and cancer and concludes that the evidence is strong that alcohol consumption is a cause of cancer.

Breast, colon and liver cancer were among the types of cancer caused by alcohol, according to her analysis. She notes that the precise effect may be somewhat stronger or weaker than found in existing studies, but the fundamental relationship between the substance and disease holds true.

The paper is the latest in a string of research to show a link between alcohol consumption and cancer.

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Write to Justin Worland at justin.worland@time.com.