A new study funded by the European Union's EU4Health program found that people with alcoholism who go through rehabilitation or stay sober have a much lower risk of developing alcohol-related cancer.

The study, recently published in the journal Lancet Public Health, was conducted jointly by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Bordeaux University Hospital in France, and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The largest of its kind, the study examined data from nearly 24 million French adults released from hospitals between 2018 and 2021. Researchers discovered that alcohol dependence is strongly linked to cancers such as liver, mouth, throat, voice box, oesophagus, and colon cancers, affected 6.3 percent of men and 1.6 percent of women.

However, those who went through rehabilitation or had a history of staying Sober people had a much lower cancer risk than those who kept drinking without getting help, the researchers noted.

"The research team was surprised by the size of the treatment intervention effect in this study," said Dr Jürgen Rehm, senior scientist at CAMH and senior author of the study.

"We know that alcohol dependence treatment is effective, but the fact that alcohol dependence is a recurring chronic disease often makes us forget that even with relapses, periods of abstinence markedly lower the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases," he added.

The study highlights the effectiveness of treatment in reducing cancer risk linked to alcohol use. stressing the importance of these findings, Dr Michaël Schwarzinger, lead author of the article and a member of the Department of Prevention at Bordeaux University Hospital said,  "From a public health standpoint, our research highlights a troubling neglect of alcohol dependence, among other health issues in both research and policy priorities."

He added that alcoholism remains a serious problem in countries like France. where the average annual alcohol consumption per person is more than double the global average.

Emphasising the role of health systems in reducing the risk of alcohol-related cancer, Dr Carina Ferreira-Borges, Regional Adviser for Alcohol, Illicit Drugs, and Prison Health at the WHO Regional Office for Europe said, "We know that the most effective strategy for reducing the overall burden of alcohol-related problems, including cancer, is to implement population-level policies such as raising alcohol pricing and limiting alcohol availability, and prohibiting or restricting promotion.”

Pointing out that the study emphasises the importance of healthcare system responses in lowering the risk of alcohol-related malignancies, she added, “Countries should safeguard their populations from avoidable malignancies by making therapies for alcohol rehabilitation and abstinence more accessible in healthcare settings. As a result, we advocate for increased investment in rehabilitation and treatment programmes for alcohol use disorders in France and other WHO European Region countries."

Highlighting the significance of the findings for Canada, Dr Leslie Buckley, CAMH's Chief of Addictions said, "In Canada, hospital admissions for alcohol-related disorders exceed those for heart attacks, and many patients face barriers to evidence-based treatment because of stigma and difficulty receiving in-person care."

Suggesting that virtual treatment could help address these problems by providing flexible and affordable options she added, "At CAMH, we are conducting research on totally virtual day programmes, which show promise in duplicating typical rehabilitation intensity without the need for physical infrastructure, lowering wait times, and increasing treatment accessibility. Given the impending increase in alcohol availability in Ontario, we must evaluate how to make treatment more accessible. We expect increased alcohol availability to lead to increased drinking, which accessible virtual treatment programmes could address this by providing critical care to individuals in need."