Alcohol and cancer of the colon and rectum

The association between alcohol intake and colorectal cancer was examined in a population-based case-control study performed in Stockholm in 1986-88. The study included 352 cases of colon cancer, 217 cases of rectal cancer, and 512 controls. Relative risks, with 95% confidence intervals, were calculated for total alcohol intake and for different alcoholic beverages. Total alcohol intake (> or = 30 g 100% ethanol per day) was not associated with colon cancer (relative risk = 0.9, confidence intervals = 0.4-1.8) or rectal cancer (1.0, 0.4-2.1). There was no evidence supporting beverage specificity (for colorectal cancer and > or = 10 g 100% ethanol per day: beer 1.1, 0.6-2.0, wine 1.0, 0.4-2.7, spirits 1.0, 0.6-1.6). The associations did not vary according to gender or site within the large bowel. These analyses were adjusted for year of birth and gender (when appropriate). Further adjustments for diet, body mass or physical activity had little or no influence on the results. The present study does not support the hypothesis that alcohol plays an important role in the aetiology of cancer of the colon and rectum in a population with a relatively low alcohol intake.