Drinking Alcohol May Increase Prostate Cancer Risk
A peer-reviewed journal of medicine, published by the American Cancer Society, recently stated that men who drink alcohol heavily have higher risk of developing prostate cancer. It is also found that the use of heavy alcohol may also diminish the effects of finasteride, a drug which is used to reduce prostate cancer risk.
The study has been based on the PCPT (Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial), a study conducted by the National Cancer Institute, which proved that finasteride is effective in enlarging the prostates so that men can urinate freely. Finasteride was believed to reduce risk of prostate cancer by at least 25%.
In the study, the researchers of University of California observed the drinking pattern of more than ten thousand men which included the frequency, type and amount of alcohol the men were taking. It has been found that, men who consumed at least 50 gms of alcohol every day and men who drank heavily (more than 5 times per week) had more risk of developing high grade prostate cancer. High grade cancer is the most aggressive form of prostate cancer. 50 gms of alcohol is equivalent to 3.5 liquor drinks or 4 beers or 4 wine glasses. The study also showed that men who consume beer heavily are at a higher risk as compared to liquor or wine. But this conclusion may be the result of the fact that men drink more beer than any other type of alcohol.
Taking finasteride can lower the risk of low-grade prostate cancer but if one consumed alcohol heavily, then it is believed that alcohol is able to cancel out the effects of finasteride and thus it is not effective on heavy drinkers. Alcohol is known to interfere with the enzymes that are required for the processing of the drug. If you take finasteride for decreasing prostate cancer risk and at the same time, consume alcohol, then you must consult your doctor who will tell you whether you should continue taking the drug or not. This may lead to some difficult adverse effects like no interest in sex and erectile dysfunction.
If you are a regular alcohol drinker, then you should consider to cut back. Although its relation with prostate cancer is still not proven, alcohol is known to be linked with other type of cancers like throat cancer, larynx cancer, liver cancer, breast cancer, esophagus cancer and colon cancer. Women are advised by the American Cancer Society to take only one drink in a day while men can take up to 2 drinks per day.
In general terms, a drink means beer (12 ounces) or wine (5 ounces) or 80 proof distilled spirits (1.5 ounces). It would also be better to consult a doctor to know about other life style choices that can be helpful in reducing risk of cancer. These may include maintaining healthy body weight, doing regular exercise, eating healthy diet and taking regular cancer screening.
The results of this study seem to be different from those of other studies and according to the researchers, more studies are required to be conduced to confirm these findings.