Latest scientific news 03 August 2016

Moderate intake of alcoholic beverages may lower thyroid cancer risk

This meta-analysis confirmed an inverse association between the moderate intake of alcoholic beverages and thyroid cancer risk.

To explore the influence of alcohol consumption on the risk of thyroid cancer, Chinese researchers conducted a meta-analysis of available epidemiological data. Their literature search included 24 studies (7 cohort studies, 17 case-control studies and a total of 9990 thyroid cancer cases). The results showed that any drinking, in relation to nondrinkers, was associated with a 20%, light drinking (≤12.5 g/day of ethanol) with a 19%, and moderate drinking (> 12.5 g/day of ethanol) with a 29% reduced risk for thyroid cancer in present study. However, the association of heavy drinking (> 50 g/day of ethanol) and thyroid cancer risk was unclear due to the lack of data provided from original studies. Thus, this meta-analysis confirms an inverse association between the consumption of alcoholic beverages and thyroid cancer risk.

 Wang X, Cheng W, Li J, Zhu J. A meta-analysis of alcohol consumption and thyroid cancer risk. Oncotarget. 2016 Jun 30. [Epub ahead of print], doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.10352.

 For more information about this article, read the scientific abstract here.