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Drinking Alcohol Reduces Kidney Cancer Risk

There is strong evidence from around the world that the moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages (beer, wine and distilled spirits) is associated with a significantly lower risk of developing kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma).

For example,

• A pooled analysis of 12 prospective studies of 760,044 men and women found that "moderate alcohol consumption was associated with a lower risk of renal cell cancer."¹
• A study of 88,759 women who were followed for 20 years and 47,828 men followed for 14 years found that alcohol consumption was associated with a reduced risk of developing renal cell cancer.²
• The consumption of beer, wine and distilled spirits was associated with decreased risks for renal cell cancer among the 120,852 participants in the Netherlands Cohort Study (NLCS) on Diet and Cancer who were followed for over 11 years.³
• A prospective cohort study of 59,237 women in Sweden found that alcohol consumption was associated with a reduction in risk of kidney cancer. As a whole, women who consumed at least one drink per week enjoyed a 38% lower risk of renal cell carcinoma than did those who drank less or who abstained. However, for women over age 55, the risk of kidney cancer dropped by two-thirds (66%) among drinkers.⁴
• A total of 34,637 women in Iowa were followed for a period of over 15 years. Compared to alcohol abstainers or non-drinkers, women who rank alcohol daily had a 48% lower risk of developing kidney cancer.⁵
• A large cohort of Finnish male smokers was followed for 12 years. Researchers found that alcohol consumption was associated with a reduced risk of developing renal cell cancer. Those in the top quartile of consumption had a 47% reduced risk of kidney cancer.⁶
• Analysis of data from two Italian case-control studies involving 1,115 cases of renal cell cancer and 2,582 controls revealed that alcohol consumption significantly reduced risk of developing the disease. Those who consumed four or fewer drinks per day had a 13% reduced risk, those who consumed over four to eight drinks per day had a 24% reduced risk, and those who had over eight drinks per day had a 30% reduced risk of developing kidney cancer.⁷
• A study of 161,126 participants in the Hawaii-Los Angeles Multiethnic Cohort were followed for 8.3 years. Compared with nondrinkers, men who consumed one or more drinks per day had a 31% lower risk of developing renal cell cancer. No effect could be detected for women because too few who developed the disease also drank alcohol to make an adequate statistical analysis possible.⁸
• The role of alcohol in kidney cancer among 1,065 incident kidney cancer cases and 1,509 controls in Russia, Romania, Poland, and the Czech Republic was studied. Compared with those in the lowest decile, those in the upper 10th percentile of total alcohol consumption had a 61% reduced risk of developing the disease. However, those with lower levels of consumption did not experience a reduced risk.⁹
• A case-control study of 315 renal cell carcinoma patients, 313 hospital and 336 population controls in Oklahoma found that that ever use of alcohol was strongly correlated with a reduced risk of kidney cancer.¹⁰
• A total of 406 people with renal cell carcinoma were compared with 2,429 controls randomly selected from the general population of Iowa. Women who consumed more than three drinks of alcohol per week (the median among drinkers) had a 50% reduction in risk compared with never drinkers. There was no protective effect found for men.¹¹
• A population-based case-control study of Swedish men and women aged 20-79 years consisted of 855 cases and 1,204 controls. The risk of developing kidney cancer dropped about 40% among those who drank alcohol in moderation. The investigators concluded that the lower risk found for the three different alcoholic beverages and total ethanol intake suggests that "alcohol itself rather than a particular type of drink is responsible for the reduction in risk."¹²
• A hospital-based case-control study of 267 men and women and an equal number of matched controls was conducted in six cities in the U.S. Alcohol drinkers were found to have a 40% reduced risk of developing kidney cancer compared with those who did not drink alcohol.¹³
• A study of 196 cases of renal cell carcinoma and 347 controls in France found no relationship between any of the variables studied (number of cigarettes smoked per day, duration of smoking, early age at first cigarette smoking, regular coffee consumption, decaffeinated coffee consumption, tea consumption, or alcohol consumption) and risk of developing the disease, although most studies find that tobacco use significantly increases risk of kidney cancer.¹⁴

All the studies that have used large numbers of participants, controlled for possible alternative explanations, and followed participants for many years have found that drinking alcohol reduces the risk of developing renal cell carcinoma. This fact strengthens the conclusion that drinking alcohol is protective against kidney cancer.

Drinking in moderation has been described by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) as a man consuming four drinks on any day and an average of 14 drinks per week. For women, it is consuming three drinks in any one day and an average of seven drinks per week.

A standard alcoholic drink is:

• A 12-ounce can or bottle of regular beer
• A 5-ounce glass of dinner wine
• A shot (one and one-half ounces) of 80 proof liquor or spirits such as vodka, tequila, or rum either straight or in a mixed drink.

Standard drinks contain equivalent amounts of alcohol. To a breathalyzer, they're all the same.

There is no evidence that any particular form of alcoholic beverage (beer, wine, or distilled spirits) confers greater health benefits than any other.

 

This website does not provide any suggestions or recommendations regarding drinking alcohol and health matters and none should be inferred.