Alcohol Flushing, a Tell Sign for Risk of Esophageal Cancers

Alcohol-induced flushing is caused by an inherited deficiency in an enzyme called aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) and recent studies show that people with this deficiency are more exposed to the risk of developing esophageal cancer (specifically squamous cell carcinoma) from alcohol consumption.

Trying to raise aware of this fact, Dr Philip Brooks and colleagues from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Maryland, USA, along with Dr. Akira Yokoyama from the Kurihama Alcohol Center in Japan stated: “Our goal in writing this article is to inform doctors firstly that their ALDH2- deficient patients have an increased risk for esophageal cancer if they drink moderate amounts of alcohol, and secondly that the alcohol flushing response is a biomarker for ALDH2 deficiency. As a result, ALDH2-deficient patients can then be counseled to reduce alcohol consumption, and high-risk patients can be assessed for endoscopic cancer screening.”

The alcohol flushing response is presented by a third of the East Asian population and esophageal cancer (one of the deadliest cancers worldwide) shows a five year survival rate in 31.6% cases in Japan (15.6% in the United States, 12.3% in Europe). Since approximately 540 million people live with ALDH2 deficiency, a large number of lives could be saved by the reduction of esophageal cancers due to alcohol consumption.