Alcohol acts to promote incidence of tumors

Alcohol is a major cancer risk factor. A variety of roles in carcinogenesis have been assigned to ethanol. Our recent studies indicate that ethanol may act as tumor promoter. Further studies suggest that ethanol may act as tumor promoter through free radicals generated during its metabolism because an increase in tumors was observed under conditions in which ethanol-induced lipid peroxidation could take place and not in which such lipid peroxidation could not occur. Other possibilities include ethanol effect on cell necrosis and cell proliferation and generation of a secondary mutagenic event through a DNA repair deficiency. The immune system, because it is a defense mechanism against carcinogenesis and because ethanol is immunosuppressive, must also play a role. Our current studies are aimed at elucidating some of these mechanisms and pointing out the complexity of the mechanisms that are affected by ethanol and that may be involved in tumor promotion.