Heavy drinking linked to higher risk of rare soft tissue cancer in women
Heavy drinking raises women’s risk of rare soft tissue sarcoma. gettyimagesbank
Women who drink heavily face a higher risk of developing soft tissue sarcoma. This rare malignant tumor arises in muscles, fat, nerves, blood vessels and other connective tissues, according to new research by Catholic University of Korea St. Vincent’s Hospital.
The study, released Sept. 14, tracked 3.93 million Korean adults who underwent national health checkups in 2009, over an 11-year period.
Led by orthopedic surgeon Joo Min-wook, the research team examined the link between alcohol consumption and the incidence of soft tissue sarcoma, which accounts for less than 1 percent of all cancers.
The findings show that women who consumed less than four drinks a day — equivalent to under 30 grams of ethanol — had a 1.51 times higher risk of developing the cancer compared with nondrinkers.
For women drinking four or more drinks daily, the risk rose to 2.48 times.
Measured by drink per occasion, the risk increased 1.35 times for women who drank three to four drinks, 1.73 times for five to seven drinks and 3.7 times for binge drinking of 14 or more drinks in one sitting. No significant association was found in men.
The results follow a 2023 Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency report, which showed that high-risk drinking among adult men decreased from 25.1 percent in 2012 to 23.6 percent in 2021, while the rate for women increased from 7.9 percent to 8.9 percent during the same period.
High-risk drinking is defined as consuming at least seven drinks for men or five for women per occasion, at least twice a week.
“Alcohol is already recognized as a risk factor for various diseases, and our study demonstrates its association with soft tissue sarcoma as well,” Joo said. “There needs to be greater public awareness of alcohol’s harmful effects and stronger policy support to address them.”
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.