image: Sanjay Shete, Ph.D.
Credit: The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
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More than half of American adults misunderstand or underestimate the link between alcohol consumption and cancer
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Alcohol drinkers are especially likely to believe that drinking has no effect on cancer risk
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Correcting these misbeliefs may strengthen adherence to U.S. Surgeon General’s alcohol consumption guidelines to lower cancer risk
HOUSTON, OCTOBER 30, 2025 – Despite clear evidence linking alcohol use to increased cancer risks, public awareness of this connection remains low in the U.S., according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Researchers found that more than half of American adults (52.9%) did not know alcohol affects cancer risk.
The cross-sectional study, published today in JAMA Oncology, revealed 37.1% of U.S. adults do understand there is a correlation between cancer risk and drinking, and 1% believed that drinking decreased cancer risk. People who had recently consumed alcohol, or who believed that cancer isn’t fatal or preventable, were more likely to think that drinking alcohol doesn’t influence cancer risk, the study also found.
“It’s concerning that people who drink alcohol are the ones most likely to believe it has no effect on cancer risk,” said lead author, Sanjay Shete, Ph.D., professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, and Betty B. Marcus Chair in Cancer Prevention. “Given people’s beliefs play a critical role in whether they choose healthier behaviors, we need to work on correcting these misperceptions, which could be essential to reducing the growing burden of alcohol-related cancers.”
According to the study, what may impact a person’s view of alcohol and cancer risk?
While it is known that individuals’ beliefs strongly influence their willingness to adopt healthier behaviors, few studies have examined this on a national scale. Researchers found that the prevalence of beliefs varied according to certain health-behavioral factors.
Current cigarette smokers, Black individuals, those with lower education levels (below a college or high school level), and those who do not believe cancer is preventable were more likely not to know that alcohol influences cancer risk.
What do we know about alcohol and cancer risk?
According to the World Health Organization, alcohol is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen, the same category as tobacco, asbestos and radiation. Drinking alcohol has been linked to at least seven types of cancer. About 5.5% of all new cancer diagnoses and 5.8% of all deaths from cancer are attributed to drinking alcohol, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Addressing misbeliefs could reinforce individual compliance with alcohol consumption guidelines, particularly those recently endorsed by the U.S. Surgeon General in his 2025 advisory, and may help mitigate preventable cancer-related deaths.
How was the study conducted?
In this analysis, researchers looked at responses from almost 7,000 Americans over the age of 18 (mean age 48) from the 2024 Health Information National Trends Survey data. Almost half were female (48.4%), 60.7% were white, 17.5% were Hispanic and 11% were Black. More than half of respondents had consumed alcohol in the last month. Nearly 10% had a personal cancer history.
The belief about the effect of alcohol on cancer risk was measured with the question: “In your opinion, how does drinking alcohol affect the risk of getting cancer?” Possible responses to this question were: "decreases the risk of cancer," "has no effect on the risk of cancer," "increases risk of cancer," and "don't know."
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This study was funded by the National Cancer Institute (P30CA016672) and the Betty B. Marcus Chair in Cancer Prevention. For a full list of collaborating authors, disclosures and funding sources, read the full paper in JAMA Oncology.
Journal
JAMA Oncology