Alcohol Immunity And Cancer

Chronic alcoholism afflicts approximately 7% of the adult population of the United States and an even larger proportion in some other countries. Among the most devastating health problems associated with alcoholism are increased morbidity and mortality from infections and cancer. Alcohol, Immunity, and Cancer is the first book devoted entirely to presenting up-to-date comprehensive reviews on how the deleterious effects of alcohol consumption impact the immune system and increase the risk of developing many types of cancer. Topics covered include the effects of alcohol on cytokine activity, the modulation of natural killer cell activity by alcohol, fetal alcohol exposure and immunity, alcohol and hepatic carcinogenesis, and alcohol and cancer of the pancreas. Alcohol, Immunity, and Cancer will be invaluable for immunologists, pathologists, toxicologists, microbiologists, biochemists, endocrinologists, and neuroscientists interested in alcohol research. It will also benefit medical experts and general practitioners who need to know the role alcohol may play in the health and disease of their patients.

In the recent years, a significant amount of research has emerged connecting the link between alcohol and cancer. The field has rapidly advanced, especially since the complex connection between alcohol and cancer has several unique sub areas that are being investigated. This proceedings volume will contain chapters based upon the presentation of the 2nd International Conference on Alcohol and Cancer in Colorado, 2013. The various topics explore the affects of alcohol on: liver and breast cancer; cell signaling and cancer; stem cells; biomarkers and metabolomics; aerodigestive cancers; cancer and the immune system and more.

The World Health Organization has identified chronic alcohol consumption as one of the top ten risk factors for worldwide burden of disease. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has identified alcohol as carcinogenic to humans, including cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract, colon, liver and breast. Alcohol’s actions may be direct e.g. effects on retinoic acid and one-carbon metabolism, or indirect, through metabolites such as acetaldehyde and reactive oxygen species or through various signaling pathways that influence cell cycle and apoptosis that may contribute to carcinogenesis. This report reviews the state of the art in alcohol-related cancer research in ten chapters.

This report considers the biological and behavioral mechanisms that may underlie the pathogenicity of tobacco smoke. Many Surgeon General's reports have considered research findings on mechanisms in assessing the biological plausibility of associations observed in epidemiologic studies. Mechanisms of disease are important because they may provide plausibility, which is one of the guideline criteria for assessing evidence on causation. This report specifically reviews the evidence on the potential mechanisms by which smoking causes diseases and considers whether a mechanism is likely to be operative in the production of human disease by tobacco smoke. This evidence is relevant to understanding how smoking causes disease, to identifying those who may be particularly susceptible, and to assessing the potential risks of tobacco products.

Alcohol clearly plays key roles in the promotion of cancers initiated by carcinogens. Thus, it is a major cause or significant contributing factor to many cancers. Ethanol affects the metabolism of anticancer drugs. It significantly contributes to viral hepatitis and liver cancer. In addition it modulates colorectal carcinogenesis, procarcinogen activation and risk of oral cancers. The mechanisms of ethanol's actions in carcinogen activation, and alcohol-related cancers are extensively reviewed. This book is designed for the researcher trying to understand how alcohol causes cancer, as well as the clinician/epidemiologist wishing to know more about its role in human cancer incidence.