Alcohol-Related Cancer Deaths Have More Than Doubled in the United States Over the Past 30 Years, Study Suggests

While scientists say their findings don’t necessarily mean you need to cut alcohol from your life entirely, knowing the potential risks—especially if you’re already at an elevated risk of developing cancer—can help guide your decisions

Sara Hashemi | Daily Correspondent

September 21, 2026 11:32 a.m.

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Cancer deaths in the United States likely caused by alcohol appear to have doubled over the past three decades. Researchers who examined a gargantuan dataset estimate that about 23,126 people died of alcohol-attributable cancer in 2023—a huge jump from 11,361 deaths in 1990.

The upward trend persisted even though the country’s overall cancer mortality rate dropped significantly over the same period.

The findings, published in the journal Lancet Regional Health—Americas on September 2, are “quite concerning,” says study co-author Chinmay Jani, a hematologist-oncologist at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami, to MedPage Today’s Mike Bassett. They highlight the need for further research on the relationship between alcohol and cancer, as well as for updated public health messaging around alcohol consumption.

“The results force us to confront the uncomfortable truth that resonates across the Americas and globally: Society has normalized the consumption of a [known] carcinogen, while simultaneously investing billions in cancer treatment and prevention,” wrote experts who were not involved in the study in an accompanying commentary.

Alcohol contributes to cancer in several ways. For instance, when the body metabolizes alcohol, it forms acetaldehyde, a carcinogen that causes harmful DNA damage. Usually, your cells break down acetaldehyde before it can do any harm thanks to special enzymes and other molecular mechanisms, but these safeguards can get overwhelmed. And some people have genetic mutations that don’t allow their bodies to make certain defensive proteins.

What’s more, alcohol can increase the level of hormones like estrogen, which plays a role in the development of breast cancer. These beverages also make it easier for the cells in the mouth to absorb carcinogens. That means if a person both smokes and regularly drinks, they are more susceptible to the carcinogens from tobacco.

In the new study, Jani and colleagues looked at data on ten types of cancer from the Global Burden of Disease study, a massive effort to measure health challenges around the world. It includes information on 204 countries and territories, 371 diseases and injuries, and 88 risk factors for illness and death.

Analyses revealed that the leading causes of alcohol-attributable cancer deaths in 2023 were colorectal, esophageal, liver and breast cancers. The results differed based on age and sex. In men ages 55 and up—the group most affected by cancer deaths linked to alcohol—the leading killer was liver cancer, followed by esophageal and colorectal cancers. In men ages 20 to 54, most died from colorectal cancer. Meanwhile, breast cancer was the leading cause of alcohol-related cancer deaths in women of all ages.

Additionally, compared to men in the older age group, less alcohol is needed to raise the risk of cancer among younger men and women of any age, Jani tells Sandee LaMotte at CNN. “If the same proportion of alcohol is taken by a female or by a younger male … it’s considered a much higher risk potential for cancer development.”

So, does that mean you should cut alcohol from your life completely? Not exactly.

“An important message that we are trying to deliver is that this study does not say that you should completely stop drinking alcohol ... but that it is a preventable cause of cancer mortality,” Jani tells MedPage Today. “As individuals, people can identify if they have any other risk factors, like tobacco or family history, or any other diseases that could potentially lead to cancer. In those cases, they should identify themselves as a higher-risk individual and try to reduce alcohol intake as much as possible.”

The study also didn’t identify a safe threshold for alcohol consumption. Additionally, some research has shown little to no increased risk of cancer from light drinking, and there are a lot of nuances to studies on alcohol and cancer risk and how their results are interpreted, wrote Robert M. Kaplan, a public health researcher at Stanford University, in January for STAT. And for some people, the social experiences gained over an occasional drink might outweigh the possible health risks, he added.

Nevertheless, the new findings “reinforce the growing literature that alcohol plays an important role in the cancer landscape,” says Priscilla Martinez-Matyszczyk, an epidemiologist at the nonprofit Public Health Institute, to the Washington Post’s Daniel Wu. She wasn’t involved in the new work but did co-author a study published in June that found more than one drink a day can increase the risk of cancer and other health issues.

“It is difficult to ascertain exactly what the safe level of alcohol is,” Gilberto Lopes, an oncologist at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center who co-authored the new work, tells the outlet. But “it is quite clear that we do know the mechanisms through which alcohol causes cancer. So that, there’s no dispute about.”

Sara Hashemi is a science writer and fact-checker currently based in New York City. Her work has appeared in Sierra, The Body, Maisonneuve magazine and more.