Except for breast cancer, little is known about the effect of moderate alcohol consumption for the risk of cancer in women. British researchers have tried to move the situation forwards by tracking 1.3 million women in the United Kingdom over an average of 7.2 years.

The study came to the conclusion that low to moderate alcohol consumption increases the risk for a number of cancers. In developed countries, for each additional regular drink per day, the increased consumption among women up to 75 years of age results in 11 cases of breast cancer, 1 case per thousand women with cancer of the throat and oral cavity, as well as 1 case per thousand of cancer of the rectum, and 0.7 cases of cancer of the oesophagus, the larynx and the liver. In all this gives an additional total of 15 cancers per 1 000 women up to 75 years of age.