Had patient recently that presented to my office for a consultation regarding facial pain but then I notices a peculiar lesion on the face…dermatology consult —> melanoma! I was shocked. So I decided to read up the latest in this disease and came across a recent article linking alcohol consumption and skin cancer in women. Interesting findings:
At Stanford, researchers recently found an increased risk for both melanoma and non-melanotic skin cancer among women, who consumed a certain amount and type of alcohol. They studies close to 60,000 postmenopausal white women for an average of 10.2 years. Over 532 cases of physician-diagnosed malignant melanoma (MM) and 9593 cases of self-reported non-melanotic skin cancer (NMSC) were reported. When compared with nondrinkers, those who consumed 7 or more drinks per week had a heightened hazard of Melanoma (hazard ratio, 1.64; P=0.0013) and increased risk for other non-melanotic skin cancers (odds ratio, 1.23; P<0.0001). Additionally, white wine or hard liquor were also associated with increased occurrence of MM and NMSC compared with nondrinkers.
Here is the link to the actual study:
