[QUOTE]For the new study, published in the science journal Nature, researchers gave lab mice diluted alcohol, known chemically as ethanol.
They then used chromosome and DNA analysis to examine genetic damage caused by acetaldehyde, a chemical produced when the body processes alcohol.
"They found that acetaldehyde can break and damage DNA within blood stem cells, leading to rearranged chromosomes and permanently altering the DNA sequences within these cells," Cancer Research UK, which helped fund the research, said in a statement.
"It is important to understand how the DNA blueprint within stem cells is damaged because when healthy stem cells become faulty, they can give rise to cancer."
DNA damage can lead to cell death, but can also trigger the body's natural repair mechanisms.
However, if the DNA is repaired incorrectly, it can lead to cancer.
"While some damage occurs by chance, our findings suggest that drinking alcohol can increase the risk of this damage," said lead author Ketan Patel of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge.
The team also examined how the body fights against alcohol damage using a family of enzymes called ALDH, which turn acetaldehyde into acetate, which cells can use as energy.
Millions of people - particularly from South-east Asia - either lack these enzymes or carry faulty versions, said the team. And mice lacking ALDH, given alcohol, suffered four times as much DNA damage.
"Our study highlights that not being able to process alcohol effectively can lead to an even higher risk of alcohol-related DNA damage and therefore certain cancers," said Patel.
It may be a contributor to an "extremely high prevalence" of throat cancer in countries such as China, commented Malcolm Alison of the Queen Mary University of London, who was not involved in the study.
Commentators welcomed the paper's contribution to the knowledge base.
"This is beautiful work, which puts our finger on the molecular basis for the link between alcohol and increased cancer risk and stem cells. Very important," said Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz of the University of Cambridge.[/QUOTE]
[url]http://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/study-shows-how-alcohol-may-cause-cancer?xtor=CS1-10[/url]
I'll have a drink to that then
[QUOTE]"While some damage occurs by chance, our findings suggest that drinking alcohol can increase the risk of this damage," said lead author Ketan Patel of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge.
[/QUOTE]
Welp, I could stop drinking. Then again no one [B][I][U]REALLY[/U][/I][/B] wants to live forever.
i think it'd be easier to just try and find out what doesn't cause cancer
Life is a sexually transmitted disease with a 100% mortality rate. So you might as well have a drink.
Listen I'm fucking Scottish mate and none of my family have died to Cancer yet somehow so this study is obviously bollocks.
Us Scottish would be fucking deed if it was true.
Looks like I'm dying early then
First smokes and now alcohol? I suppose next it'll be the gambling and hookers giving me cancer! Can't science let us have anything fun?
[QUOTE=c:;53025691]First smokes and now alcohol? I suppose next it'll be the gambling and hookers giving me cancer! Can't science let us have anything fun?[/QUOTE]
Time to do all 4 of them so that way you go out in a cancer of glory
Title might be a bit misleading, it seems like this study is specifically about the effects of lacking the ALDH enzyme? So while anyone may have ALDH deficiency without knowing it this is mainly a risk to Asians since it's a lot more common there?
[QUOTE=lockdown6;53025737]It says it applies to everyone, just that if you lack the enzyme it's even worse[/QUOTE]
Can confirm, even worst, I'm allergic to alcohol. I get hives when I drink too much, and it gets all red and itchy.
Plus i could go into shock and be twitching on the floor.
But fuck it I still drink.
That is sort of sad, but it makes sense. One of my mothers siblings died a few years back from pancreatic cancer and he was a heavy drinker/alcoholic most of his life.
I rarely ever drink alone, though, and I try not to get too hammered because I hate hangovers.
[QUOTE=Im Crimson;53025734]Title might be a bit misleading, it seems like this study is specifically about the effects of lacking the ALDH enzyme? So while anyone may have ALDH deficiency without knowing it this is mainly a risk to Asians since it's a lot more common there?[/QUOTE]
If you have a deficiency you'll probably know it since your body gets [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_flush_reaction"]pissed off[/URL] at the acetaldehyde.
Also this still applies to everyone. One of the steps in your body breaking down alcohol is literally just turning it into a well-known carcinogen. It's just that if you have the deficiency, it accumulates more and causes more problems.
With the majority of cancer being in he mouth/throat of a person, it makes me wonder if the potency of alcohol makes a difference. Would 6 shots of bourbon do more damage than 6 cans of beer?
If anything survives some of the shit I drink, it has a right to kill me. :v:
Oh hey another, 'This thing causes cancer' paper that won't get double checked and be used by prime time television news to pad out reports.
What DOESN'T gives cancer?!
There are other alcohols with similar safety profiles to ethanol that don't convert to acetaldehyde.
2M2B is one that comes to mind. It's more potent than Ethanol, so you'd have to drink less for the same effects and be more careful not to overdo it, but it has much fewer side effects as it isn't converted to aldehydes. Might not be a bad idea to look into alternatives that don't metabolize into acetaldehyde, which is horrible regardless of its purported carcinogenic effects.
Fuck alcohol in general, though. It really doesn't surprise me that it causes cancer, it feels absolutely terrible.
[editline]4th January 2018[/editline]
[QUOTE=Liam968;53026282]With the majority of cancer being in he mouth/throat of a person, it makes me wonder if the potency of alcohol makes a difference. Would 6 shots of bourbon do more damage than 6 cans of beer?[/QUOTE]
Yes. The alcohol in bourbon or other high proof alcoholic drinks isn't more potent, you're literally just ingesting more ethanol. If you ingest more ethanol, more of it is metabolized to acetaldehyde, which puts you at a greater risk of cancer.
[QUOTE=mugofdoom;53026738]
Yes. The alcohol in bourbon or other high proof alcoholic drinks isn't more potent, you're literally just ingesting more ethanol. If you ingest more ethanol, more of it is metabolized to acetaldehyde, which puts you at a greater risk of cancer.[/QUOTE]
Great, so if I drink I beer I get fat and if I drink liquor I get cancer.
Other recreational substances are so much more enjoyable and so much safer that I still have no idea why Alcohol remains as popular as it does.
[QUOTE=Rocâ„¢;53026635]What DOESN'T gives cancer?![/QUOTE]
Lots.
A lot of studies that the media latch onto are very dodgy or are taken out of context. This doesn't discredit the rest tho, and learning some basic statistics and a bit about how research is conducted will allow you to better sift through it yourself.
[QUOTE=SunsetTable;53026634]Oh hey another, 'This thing causes cancer' paper that won't get double checked and be used by prime time television news to pad out reports.[/QUOTE]
This isn't really a "chocolate gives cancer" p-hacked study tho.
You don't even really need a study to know that creating a carcinogen in your body will enhance your risk of cancer
[QUOTE=SunsetTable;53026634]Oh hey another, 'This thing causes cancer' paper that won't get double checked and be used by prime time television news to pad out reports.[/QUOTE]
I mean, sure, but we've known people who drink heavily are at a greater risk of cancer for a long time now. This is the follow up to that that explains how.
[QUOTE=phygon;53026798]Great, so if I drink I beer I get fat and if I drink liquor I get cancer.
Other recreational substances are so much more enjoyable and so much safer that I still have no idea why Alcohol remains as popular as it does.[/QUOTE]
Yeah alcohol just makes me feel like shit, or extremely tired. It's only "fun" when I get shitfaced, and the fun part of that goes away pretty fast.
Also for some odd reason I get hangovers the night of drinking rather than the morning after, pretty much always an awful experience for me.
[QUOTE=zeromancer;53025664]Listen I'm fucking Scottish mate and none of my family have died to Cancer yet somehow so this study is obviously bollocks.
Us Scottish would be fucking deed if it was true.[/QUOTE]
Kinda undercut by the fact that us Scots do have a lower than average life expectancy though
[QUOTE=Jeezy;53027008]Yeah alcohol just makes me feel like shit, or extremely tired. It's only "fun" when I get shitfaced, and the fun part of that goes away pretty fast.
Also for some odd reason I get hangovers the night of drinking rather than the morning after, pretty much always an awful experience for me.[/QUOTE]
Master the beer + weed combo, and you can have fun every time without getting too hungover. Timing is the key, and a bit of weed tolerance helps too.
[QUOTE=UnknownDude;53027227]Master the beer + weed combo, and you can have fun every time without getting too hungover. Timing is the key, and a bit of weed tolerance helps too.[/QUOTE]
Or just take vitamins and drink water, that works too
What happened to drinking red wine every so often being healthy?
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;53027851]What happened to drinking red wine every so often being healthy?[/QUOTE]
Iirc that's with regards to coronary heart disease (and atherosclerosis in general) Many substances come with U-curved effects - beneficial in moderate doses, harmful in lower or higher doses. Obviously not perfectly U-shaped, and many substances obviously don't follow this.
Alcohol only has health benefits in what is considered moderation which is generally far less than what is generally consumed in recreational dosages
Isn't this common knowledge? I did a RSA not so long ago and they teach this as part of the course.
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