Alcohol linked to surprising cancer death pattern in adults under 55, research finds
The findings, published in The Lancet Regional Health — Americas and presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago, revealed that alcohol-attributable cancer deaths increased from 11,361 in 1990 to 23,126 in 2023
NEW YORK, September 13, 2026 — Annual cancer deaths in the United States linked to alcohol consumption more than doubled over a three-decade period, according to a recent study led by researchers at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
The findings, published in The Lancet Regional Health — Americas and presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago, revealed that alcohol-attributable cancer deaths increased from 11,361 in 1990 to 23,126 in 2023.
Researchers analysed more than 30 years of data from the Global Burden of Disease study to track trends in alcohol-related cancer deaths.
While alcohol has long been classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, surveys show that public awareness of its link to cancer remains limited.
“The most surprising finding was the breadth of alcohol’s potential impact across cancer types,” said Chinmay Jani, M.D., corresponding author of the study and chief fellow in haematology and oncology at Sylvester.
“Although its relationship with liver cancer is widely recognised, its contribution to cancers such as colorectal, oesophageal, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancer is less understood by the public.”
The research showed that older adults and men bore the highest overall burden of alcohol-related cancer deaths. Among older men, liver cancer was the leading cause of alcohol-attributable mortality, followed closely by oesophageal and colorectal cancers.
Breast cancer was the leading cause of alcohol-related cancer deaths among women overall, the study found.
Among younger adults aged between 20 and 54, colorectal cancer emerged as the leading cause of alcohol-attributable cancer deaths in men and the second-leading cause in women, surpassing liver cancer in both groups.
The authors said the findings have significant implications for public health messaging, particularly because general awareness of the link between alcohol and various cancers remains low compared with awareness of established risks such as tobacco use.
Because no minimum “safe” level of alcohol consumption has been established, researchers said drinking less may help reduce the long-term risk of cancer.
However, because the study relied on existing national data rather than following individuals over time, researchers could not determine each person’s exact drinking habits or account for every lifestyle factor.
As a result, the findings demonstrate a strong association between alcohol use and cancer deaths, but they cannot prove that alcohol directly caused those deaths or establish a specific “safe” drinking limit.
“What this study makes clear is that alcohol-related cancer risk is not limited to one disease or one group of people,” said Gilberto Lopes, M.D., senior author and chief of the Division of Medical Oncology at the Miller School.
“As physicians and cancer researchers, we have an opportunity to help patients understand that alcohol is a modifiable risk factor and that even small, informed changes can be part of a broader strategy to reduce cancer risk in our community.”
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