Dr. Sanjay Gupta

Cells in our mouth can absorb cancer-causing chemicals, carcinogens, more easily when we drink alcohol.

So there's plenty of evidence in terms of the impact of alcohol on certain types of cancers, and even more and more information about the mechanisms that make it so.

But the question is, can quitting or cutting back bring it down?

Now, the headline is, studies show that cutting back on alcohol, going dry, can decrease the risk of cancer.

But it might take a while.

Let's begin with liver cancer, for example.

There was a study out of Sweden which found that if drinkers don't drink any alcohol, their risk of liver cancer goes down about 6 to 7 percent every year.

So the researchers estimated that it would take about 23 years of abstinence for a former drinker's risk of liver cancer to decline to the level of a never drinker.

I do just want to say that there is a fair amount of uncertainty with these numbers.

So think of these more as ballpark ranges.

It obviously varies individual to individual.

When it comes to head and neck cancer, researchers found that the increased risk of cancer of the larynx and throat caused by alcohol can be reversed.

Five years after abstaining from alcohol, the risk for those cancers fell around 15%.

But again, it would take more than 35 years to reach the same level of risk as a non-drinker.

For esophageal cancer, they found that, like with the other cancers mentioned, the increased risk of esophageal cancer is reversible by quitting, but it would take about 16 years to eliminate the extra risk produced by drinking.

But quitting does produce significant short-term benefits.

The research found that half of the risk reduction I just mentioned happened in the first five years.

Now, again, something to keep in mind, the researchers from the studies I just mentioned, they say that these conclusions are not definitive, and there are still questions that remain about how alcohol-associated cancer risk might play out over time.

So, look, if you play by the book, you shouldn't drink any alcohol, because any amount can increase your risk of cancer.

We know that.