Alcohol May Reduce Risk of Thyroid Cancer

Researchers affiliated with the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study have reported that alcohol intake may reduce the risk of thyroid cancer. The details of this study appeared in the November 4, 2009 issue of the British Journal of Cancer.[1]

The causes of thyroid cancer are generally obscure, although radiation exposure is a known cause. There is also an increased incidence in certain families.

Alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of several cancers, including head and neck, esophageal, breast, stomach, colon, liver, pancreas, prostate, and lung. However, risk for a few cancers, such as bladder cancer, do not appear to be increased by drinking alcohol.

Researchers involved in the current study sought to determine if there was any relationship between alcohol consumption and thyroid cancer. The NIH-ASRP Diet and Health Study includes almost 500,000 persons. Thyroid cancer was diagnosed in 170 men and 200 women. Persons who consumed two or more alcoholic drinks per day had a 43% increase in the risk of developing thyroid cancer.

Comments: Thyroid cancer is possibly the only cancer associated with a lower incidence in drinkers. There are suggestive data for a decreased risk of bladder cancer among drinkers, which was more pronounced with beer drinking than for spirits or wine.[2] A purported mechanism for alcohol protection from bladder cancer was “flushing” from increased urination. The mechanism for alcohol protecting from thyroid cancer is unknown.

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