Explainer
Alcohol and cancer risk
Alcohol causes cancer, and the more you drink, the higher the risk. Here is which cancers are linked to drinking, what counts as one drink, how much the risk changes at one or two drinks a day, and what happens when you cut back or stop.
Does alcohol cause cancer?
Yes. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) says there is strong scientific evidence that drinking alcohol can cause cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classified alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen in 1987, and the US National Toxicology Program has listed alcoholic drinks as a known human carcinogen since 2000 (NCI).
NCI says alcohol was responsible for about 5%, or nearly 100,000, of the 1.8 million cancer cases diagnosed in the United States in 2019, and about 4%, or nearly 25,000, of the 600,000 US cancer deaths that year (NCI).
Red wine is no exception. NCI notes that studies found no link between moderate red wine drinking and a lower risk of prostate or colorectal cancer, and no difference between red and white wine in overall cancer risk (NCI).
Which cancers are linked to drinking?
NCI lists higher risks of these cancers in people who drink compared with people who do not (NCI):
- Mouth (oral cavity) and throat
- Voice box (larynx)
- Esophagus (squamous cell carcinoma)
- Liver
- Breast
- Colon and rectum (colorectal)
NCI adds that some evidence suggests a link with melanoma and with pancreatic, prostate and stomach cancers (NCI).
What counts as one drink?
In the United States, a standard drink has 14.0 grams (0.6 ounces) of pure alcohol. That is about the amount in (NCI):
| Drink | One standard drink |
|---|---|
| Beer | 12 ounces (a standard bottle) |
| Malt liquor | 8 to 10 ounces |
| Wine | 5 ounces (a typical glass) |
| 80-proof liquor or spirits | 1.5 ounces (a shot) |
These sizes may not match the servings you get in daily life, so one glass can hold more or less than one drink (NCI).
How much does drinking raise the risk?
The risk goes up with the amount you drink, and even light drinking raises the risk of some cancers (NCI). For example, women who have just one drink a day have a higher risk of breast cancer than women who have less than one drink a week (NCI).
Out of 100 people
NCI reports these figures from the 2025 US Surgeon General's Advisory, which used data from Australia recalculated for US standard drinks (NCI) (Surgeon General 2025). Out of 100 people, this many will develop an alcohol-related cancer (NCI):
| Drinking | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Less than one drink a week | About 17 | 10 |
| One drink a day | 19 (2 more per 100) | 11 (1 more per 100) |
| Two drinks a day | About 22 (5 more per 100) | 13 (3 more per 100) |
These are averages for groups of people. Your own risk also depends on your genes. For example, some people, particularly of East Asian descent, have a form of the ALDH2 enzyme that makes them flush when they drink; those who still drink even moderate amounts have a higher risk of esophageal and head and neck cancers than people with the usual enzyme who drink the same amount (NCI).
By type of cancer
NCI compares people who drink with people who do not (NCI):
| Cancer | How much more likely |
|---|---|
| Mouth and throat | 1.1 times in light drinkers; 5 times in heavy drinkers |
| Voice box | 0.9 times in light drinkers; 2.6 times in heavy drinkers |
| Esophagus (squamous cell) | 1.3 times in light drinkers; 5 times in heavy drinkers |
| Liver | 2 times in heavy drinkers |
| Breast | 1.04 times in light drinkers; 1.23 times in moderate drinkers; 1.6 times in heavy drinkers |
| Colorectal | 1.2 to 1.5 times in moderate to heavy drinkers |
These are relative risks. For a less common cancer, even a large relative risk may mean only a small change in your actual chance of getting it. For a common cancer such as breast cancer, a small relative risk can add up to a large change (NCI).
Alcohol and smoking together
People who both drink and use tobacco have much greater risks of mouth, throat, voice box and esophagus cancers than people who use only one of them. For mouth and throat cancers, the harms multiply rather than simply add up (NCI).
What heavy and binge drinking mean
NCI uses the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism definitions (NCI):
- Heavy drinking: for women, four or more drinks on any day or eight or more a week; for men, five or more drinks on any day or 15 or more a week.
- Binge drinking: five or more drinks for men, or four or more for women, in about 2 hours.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020 to 2025, advise people who drink to limit it to two drinks or less in a day for men and one drink or less in a day for women, and do not advise anyone who does not drink to start. NCI notes that the 2025 US Surgeon General's Advisory has called for those limits to be reconsidered, because cancer risk rises even at or below them (NCI) (Surgeon General 2025). To see where your own drinking falls, try the AUDIT-C alcohol screening.
Does cutting back or stopping help?
Yes, for some cancers. Stopping drinking is linked to lower risks of mouth and esophagus cancers, and possibly of throat, breast and colorectal cancers. It may take years for the risk to fall to that of people who never drank, but NCI says it is never too late to stop (NCI).
If you are being treated for cancer, ask your care team whether it is safe to drink (NCI).
Why there is no alcohol cancer calculator here
The figures above are averages for large groups. We know of no published, validated model that turns your own drinking into a personal cancer risk, so we do not offer one. These checks look at specific cancers:
Sources
- National Cancer Institute. Alcohol and Cancer Risk (fact sheet). Reviewed May 2, 2025. www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/alcohol/alcohol-fact-sheet
- Office of the U.S. Surgeon General. Alcohol and Cancer Risk: The U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory. US Department of Health and Human Services; 2025. Cited by name only; the figures on our pages come from the NCI fact sheet. www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/oash-alcohol-cancer-risk.pdf
Written and maintained by the uncovermyrisk.com editorial team. We do not have a medical reviewer; every claim links to its primary source above. Last reviewed: 2026-11-04. Spotted an error? See About.