Cancer Prevention Blog

The worrying news that Britain tops the list for oesophageal cancer among our European neighbours was high on the news agenda today, with coverage in a number of daily newspapers.

The Daily Mail, Daily Express, Metro, Daily Mirror, Daily Telegraph and Guardian were among the papers to report on figures from WCRF showing how the UK compares unfavourably with other European nations, with 6.4 out of every 100,000 developing the disease every year – nearly double the European average of 3.3 per 100,000.

Our press release was also reported on by a number of influential regional … Continue Reading

Alcohol: a cancer risk factor

I did an interview with BBC London radio station this morning about new research suggesting many cases of cancer are caused by alcohol.

This new study supports what we have been saying for some time – there is convincing evidence that alcohol increases risk of a number of types of cancer, including bowel cancer and breast cancer.

This is why we recommend limiting consumption to two drinks a day for a man and one … Continue Reading

Alcohol: a cancer risk factor

Yesterday I went to the House of Lords to attend the launch of the Alcohol Concern report Making alcohol a health priority.

Before the reception to launch the report, I took part in a discussion about the issues surrounding alcohol and health and Cancer Research UK and Bowel Cancer UK were also represented.

I was pleased to hear them both draw attention to the strength of scientific evidence that … Continue Reading

Wine: a cause of breast cancer?

Those of you who read the Daily Mail may have seen an article today ‘One daily glass of wine can double risk of breast cancer‘ .

The study from the United States found that one or more drinks a day doubled the risk of lobular breast cancer. This type of breast cancer accounts for about 10 to 15 per cent of breast cancer cases.

The article also included a quote from me. At WCRF we feel it … Continue Reading

Our press release about lower alcohol wines has been mentioned in a blog post by Susan Yager on the Huffington Post website.

Hopefully this article will help raise awareness that there is now strong scientific evidence that alcohol increases cancer risk.

When we last commissioned YouGov to ask people about cancer risk factors, just 47% thought alcohol increases cancer risk.

So we still have a long way to go in getting the message across.

A new study being reported on the BBC has suggested 97 per cent of people in Scotland have at least one of five unhealthy habits – smoking, drinking, poor diet, physical inactivity and obesity.

This is a concern because there is very strong evidence that all these things increase risk of cancer.

And worryingly, the lead researcher has suggested that because people tend to put a positive spin on their lifestyles, the real picture may be even worse.

You … Continue Reading