Loading...
Alcohol is responsible for about 4% of cancer deaths worldwide. Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) metabolizes alcohol to acetaldehyde, which is in turn converted to acetate by aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). Acetaldehyde is carcinogenic in animals.
French investigators systematically identified studies in which alcohol use, ADH and ALDH gene polymorphisms, and cancer risk were assessed. The most consistent associations with cancer were for ADH1B and ALDH2, gene polymorphisms that encode less-active enzymes. In both Asian and European populations, moderate and heavy drinkers who had one of these polymorphisms had greater risks for head and neck, oropharyngeal, and esophageal cancers than did drinkers with neither polymorphism.