by Carmen Phillips
Credit: National Cancer Institute
Alcohol consumption increases the risk of at least seven types of cancer. Consuming several types of beer or cocktails on a regular basis for people undergoing cancer treatment can also have other potential harmful consequences, such as making the treatment less effective. There is also some evidence that for long-term cancer survivors, regular alcohol consumption may increase the likelihood that the cancer will return.
However, the results of a new study suggest that this information may not be reaching people who fall into one of these two categories.
The study found that many people undergoing cancer treatment and long-term cancer survivors reported drinking alcohol regularly, many moderately, but some heavily and frequently. Some people were drinking alcohol. The study found that male long-term survivors and young people undergoing treatment for cancer were among those particularly likely to be heavy or frequent drinkers.
The research team argued that the results should serve as a wake-up call for everyone involved in cancer treatment.
“Taken together, our findings demonstrate that there is a pressing unmet need for interventions on behalf of individuals. [with cancer] associated with risky drinking behaviors,” the study's lead investigator, Ying Kao, MD, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and colleagues wrote on August 10. JAMA network open.
To conduct the study, researchers used data from more than 15,000 people with a history of cancer who were participating in the National Institutes of Health. all of us research program.
Overall, about 12,000 people in this group reported drinking alcohol, and nearly 40% reported repeated risky drinking, or excessive alcohol consumption. Approximately 75% of people potentially undergoing active cancer treatment had consumed alcohol, many of them heavy.
By comparison, about 17% of U.S. adults report binge drinking, and 6% report binge drinking (15 or more drinks per week for men and 8 for women), according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“I expected that people might lose weight. [alcohol] Noel Loconte, MD, of the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center and a member of the research team, says it should be used, especially if you are actively being treated for cancer. “And we didn't see that.”
Even as rates of binge drinking in the U.S. have skyrocketed in recent years, largely due to the coronavirus pandemic, there is also a growing recognition that drinking alcohol has clear and serious harms, she continued. Ta.
“The public is really hungry for conversation” about the health effects of drinking, she says. “I think we need to use these findings as part of the conversation.”
By utilizing all of us research program
The fact that alcohol consumption can cause cancer has received increasing attention in recent years. But the potential threat it poses to cancer patients and long-term survivors has been largely ignored, explains Tanya Aggers-Collins, Ph.D., of the Behavioral Research Program in NCI's Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences.
Dr. Agers-Collins, who was not involved in the new study, said only a few studies have attempted to understand the drinking behavior of cancer survivors, including those currently undergoing treatment. And little research has been done on how to help heavy drinkers change their behavior.
“It’s time for a change,” she said.
Small studies, including some conducted in Europe, have found potentially harmful drinking behaviors in both people receiving cancer treatment and long-term survivors.
but all of us Dr. Cao and his colleagues explained that this study provided a unique opportunity to take a close look at people in these groups in the United States.
Released in 2018, all of us Through a comprehensive questionnaire, we collect information about participants' lifestyles, other behaviors, and personal backgrounds. Participants may also be granted access to their electronic health records (with all identifying information removed), providing important insights into the treatment they have received and other relevant health information.
To date, 692,000 people have registered. all of us.
Not just light drinking
In the study, the researchers identified 15,199 participants who reported a history of cancer in the initial survey between May 2018 and January 2022. Approximately 62% were female, 75% were Caucasian, and the average age was 63 years.
Using data from all of us The researchers acknowledged some limitations, including that cancer diagnoses are self-reported and cannot be verified in all cases. Additionally, the nature of the study may introduce certain “biases” into the data, which may affect the accuracy of the data and its relevance to the larger population of cancer patients and long-term survivors.
Of those who reported a history of cancer, 11,815 (78%) said they drank alcohol. Researchers classified alcohol use based on answers to several alcohol-specific questions. They also used an assessment tool called AUDIT-C, which was developed to study drinking behavior.
Binge drinking was most common among men, people under 50, and former and current smokers. Among drinkers, binge drinking and hazardous drinking were also more common among those diagnosed and treated for cancer before the age of 18.
Additionally, although people who identified as Hispanic were less likely than white participants to report drinking alcohol, those who did drink were more likely to drink heavily.
| drinking behavior | meaning | Percentage of people who reported drinking alcohol |
|---|---|---|
| Drinking more than the appropriate amount | When drinking alcohol, usually 2 or more drinks a day | 13% |
| binge drinking | 6 or more drinks at once | twenty four% |
| dangerous drinking | AUDIT-C score 3 or higher for women and 4 or higher for men (scale 0)–Five) | 38% |
Of the participants with a history of cancer, nearly 1,800 were actively undergoing cancer treatment when they completed the initial survey. Of these, 75% said they were currently drinking alcohol. Of this group, nearly 25% reported binge drinking and 38% reported hazardous drinking. However, researchers could not confirm whether alcohol was consumed during treatment.
Adam Duvall, M.D., Ph.D., a professor at the University of Chicago Cancer Center who specializes in the treatment of blood cancers, said that a particular problem is that adolescents and young adults (AYA), ages 15 to 39, report heavy drinking. He said that the In children and AYA.
That being said, Dr. Duvall continued, high alcohol consumption in AYA with or with cancer is not necessarily surprising.
According to research, “high-risk behavior [AYA] survivors,” Dr. Duvall said.
“We're also seeing higher rates of anxiety and depression, as well as other psychological issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),” he continued.
“Up to 40 percent of AYAs with cancer have some form of PTSD,” he said. “Substance abuse and high-risk behaviors go along with it.”
the need for a way to help
Further research is needed to better understand alcohol use in cancer patients, the researchers wrote. But they also stressed the need for swift action.
“The high prevalence of cancer survivors who engage in hazardous alcohol use highlights the need for immediate intervention,” the researchers wrote.
But at this point, Dr. Duvall said, there are very few proven ways to help cancer patients limit their drinking during or after treatment.
“There are various things. [clinicians] We do it ourselves,” he explained. But much of the kind of work needed to help people with substance abuse problems of any kind is beyond the realm of oncologists, he stressed.
“I'm not an expert in psychology or behavioral intervention,” he continued. “We need to work with people.” [in those specialties] To figure out what we can do to help patients with these issues. ”
Dr. Loconte said he speaks directly with patients about drinking and other behaviors that may affect treatment. And she often directs some of that discussion to family members and loved ones who are with patients, essentially recruiting people to help patients manage their drinking.
“I'm trying to make it a habit to ask [patients] If you're drinking, how much and how you feel,” she explained.
She agreed with Dr. Duvall that oncologists and the other clinicians they work with are stretched to the limit and have little time or training to adequately address these issues.
Dr. Agers-Collins will now increase collaboration with other specialties and clinicians who regularly work with cancer patients, such as oncology nurses, to develop ways to reduce risky drinking behaviors. Said it was necessary.
Given the study's findings, “we also need to better understand why so many cancer survivors consume so much alcohol,” she continued.
Could untreated pain, depression, or other reasons be involved? “We need to better understand these root causes and how best to address them,” she says. Told.
