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Alcohol and Alcohol-related Deficiencies as Carcinogens¹

Department of Pathology, Boston University School of Medicine, and the Mallory Institute of Pathology, Boston City Hospital, Boston Massachusetts 02118

From the available evidence, alcohol ingestion per se does not appear to be carcinogenic. While alcoholism constitutes a major and serious social problem, it is not clear to what extent it constitutes a major health problem. We suggest that excessive alcohol ingestion coupled with a nutritional deficiency or some other insult (e.g., smoking) may be carcinogenic. Alcohol and/or several nutritional deficiencies usually associated with alcoholism have been shown to be immunosuppressive. The relationship between immunoincompetency and neoplasia has long been appreciated, and the exact role that alcohol and/or nutritional insults have in this relationship requires further investigation.

¹ Presented at the conference on Nutrition in the Causation of Cancer. May 19 to 22, 1975, Key Biscayne, Fla. Supported by Grants AA00213 from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; CA 16750 from the National Cancer Institute; 3057-41 from the General Research Support, Boston City Hospital; and 508 from the Nutrition Foundation. Inc.

² Presenter. Professor of Pathology. To whom requests for reprints should be addressed.

³ Director, Mallory Institute of Pathology and Professor of Pathology, Boston University School of Medicine.