The more men drink, the greater their risk of developing prostate cancer, according to a new study.
Australian and Canadian researchers have found new evidence of a significant link between alcohol consumption and prostate cancer.
And it's not regular, high-level drinkers who are just at risk.
"Our study finds, for he first time, a significant dose-response relationship between the level of alcohol intake and risk of prostate cancer," the researchers wrote in their paper published in medical journal BMC Cancer.
The meta-analysis study found men who consumed just one alcoholic drink every 10 days increased their risk of developing the potentially deadly disease by eight per cent compared with those who didn't drink at all.
Men who consumed more than five drinks a day increased their risk of prostate cancer by 18 per cent compared with "lifetime abstainers".
Prostate cancer kills more than 3000 Australian men every year and is the fifth most common cause of death in men worldwide.
Alcohol is known to cause breast cancer and at least seven types of cancers of the digestive system, including bowel cancer.
Researchers at the National Drug Research Institute (NDRI) at Curtin University in Perth and the Centre for Addictions Research of BC at the University of Victoria in Canada analysed more than 25 previous cohort studies on prostate cancer and alcohol up until 2014 and found even low volumes of alcohol can increase a man's risk of prostate cancer.
"This new study contributes to the growing evidence that alcohol consumption is a causal factor for prostate cancer," said study co-author Professor Tanya Chikritzhs.
Prof Chikritzhz says the findings of their research highlight the need for better research on alcohol and health.
