Background: Even though alcohol consumption is an established risk factor for cancer, evidence regarding the effect of a reduction or cessation of alcohol consumption on cancer incidence is scarce. Our main study aim was to assess the effect of alcohol rehabilitation and abstinence on cancer incidence in people with alcohol dependence.
Methods: We conducted a nationwide hospital retrospective cohort study which included all adults residing in mainland France and discharged in 2018-21. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the effect of rehabilitation treatment at hospital or a history of abstinence versus alcohol dependence without rehabilitation or abstinence on the risk for incident alcohol-associated cancers by sex, controlled for potential confounding risk factors.
Findings: 10 260 056 men and 13 739 369 women were discharged from French hospitals in 2018-21. Alcohol dependence was identified in 645 720 (6.3%) men and 219 323 (1.6%) women. Alcohol dependence was strongly related to alcohol-associated cancer sites in both sexes (hepatocellular carcinoma and oral, pharyngeal, laryngeal, oesophageal, and colorectal cancers), except for breast cancer. Rehabilitation treatment or abstinence was associated with significantly lower risks compared with alcohol dependence without rehabilitation or abstinence (adjusted hazard ratios: 0.58, 99.89% CI 0.56-0.60 in men and 0.62, 0.57-0.66 in women). Relative risk reductions were significant for each alcohol-associated cancer site in both sexes and supported by all subgroup and sensitivity analyses.
Interpretation: Our study results support the clear benefits of alcohol rehabilitation and abstinence in reducing the risk for alcohol-associated cancers. As only two in five patients with alcohol dependence were recorded with a history of rehabilitation treatment or abstinence, a large untapped potential exists for reducing cancer incidence.
Funding: European Union's EU4Health programme. [Author's abstract]