Drinkers' Red Face: Increase Cancer Risk
One third of people of East Asian ancestry (Japanese, Chinese, or Korean) have an adverse affect from drinking alcohol. With as little as half a bottle of beer many drinkers faces turn red. Along with the flushing response, there also may be symptoms of nausea and a rapid heart beat. This reaction is caused by a deficiency in an enzyme called ALDH2. As a result of the ALDH2 deficiency the person has a problem metabolizing alcohol, which then leads to an accumulation of the toxin acetaldehyde in the body. Recent reports show that this causes a large increase in the risk of esophageal cancer. Esophageal cancer is also caused by smoking and can be treated with surgery, however the survival rates are very low.
There are two types of people who suffer from the ALDH2 deficiency. There are people with two copies of the gene that causes the reaction. Those people have such a strong negative reaction to the alcohol that they are unable to consume large amounts of alcohol. This extreme negative reaction is the body’s way of protecting them from the increase of cancer risk. However, people with only one of the copies of the gene can actually build up a tolerance to the toxin and can become heavy drinkers.
The drinkers with one copy of the gene are the ones in trouble because of the tolerance they can build up. They will no longer show strong signs of redness of the face or other symptoms. Drinkers with the ALDH2 deficiency who drink moderately show a large increase in the risk, but the risk jumps up sharply for those who are considered heavy drinkers. A person with the deficiency who drinks two beers a day has a six to ten times increase risk of developing esophageal cancer.
Alex Pavidapha (Group C week 6)
UPDATE:
I recieved many questions asking if poeple other than Asian can have the red face, and thus have an increased risk of cancer if they drink. The answer is yes. Although it is far less common in other races. It is estimated that 50% of people of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean ethnicity have the deficiency. It is also interesting to note that alcoholism among Asians is far lower than that of other races.
posted by PWH @ 10:19 PM
15 comments
15 Comments:
Its interesting that more peoples/cultures do not have this adverse effect. Did they do studies on heavy drinkers who are heterozygous and light drinkers who are double recessives?
[Nathan Beck, Wk 4]
Is this only found in people of East Asian Ancestry? I feel like this might be something that could be happening more in others just because of the way we are reproducing and evolving. Heavy stuff in this article.
Crystal Cabral
This is interesting. I would have attributed redness in the face and nausea for symptoms of someone who is allergic to alcohol. I used to have a friend that this happened to every time she drank. Its surprising to hear that these people actually have a higher risk at getting that type of cancer.
-Willow Alves
Interesting, do you think that the fact that this condition is only found in people of East Asian ancestry is the result of a founder effect? Do most people who have this condition know about it and its risks?
-Jane de Verges
I wonder why so many East Asian people have the ALDH2 deficiency. Its interesting the body can react to prevent the cancer, too bad we don't have reactions to warn us of other cancers!
[Emily Bell]
I wonder how the redness of the face coorelates to the risk of cancer. Also I am curious as to wether the gene present acts differently pertaing to gender as it seems like men can comsume far more alcohol.
Rachael Carlevale
Very interesting. I would have never thought to link redness in ones face to an alcohol warning effect. Are the people of East Asian ancestry aware of this redness mechanism so they may be able to monitor or look out for redness in thier faces? Or is this a fairly new study?
Shonneau L.
interesting that its just east asians or is it just that they have been the only ones to get the red faces and have ALDH2 deficiency? Can others have this deficiency and not have the red face as kind of a red flag that something may be wrong?
-Samantha DeBiasio
This was a really god article. I had no idea that this disorder existed and that it was so common. This makes me wonder if this is part of the reason why there is a stereotype that asian people do not drink a lot. Either way it sounds pretty debilitating if one is trying to enjoy an alcoholic beverage.
-Calin Darabus
Wow that is so weird. I realized certain cultures carry different mutations but I have never heard of an "alcohol allergy." It's funny too because I'm japanese and I do get the red race and fast heart beat. Hopefully I wont get the cancer becasue I'm really not that much of a heavy drinker. Good blog.
-Katie Cyr
I have always wondered about the reddening of the face because some people in my family get it and some do not. also, although i believe the research, it seems strange to me because my sister gets red only when she drinks and wine and not when it is any other kind of alcohol. I don't drink so i don't know if i would turn red but i wonder about this phenomena of one type of alcohol redness and how it would factor into the study.
Emily Ayotte
Alex,
This blog is very interesting. Have there been any other accounts of this alcoholic reaction occuring in people other than of East Asian ancestry? Also, is this deficiency in the enzyme heritable? If not, where does it originate from?
Saad Choudhry
Alex,
Nice blog. I actually have a friend who, not only gets red in the face, but also gets hives around his neck and arm. To add, he is half Japanese. I wonder if this is the gene that is affecting him. I never really thought about people’s reaction to alcohol as a warning sign. There must be so many symptoms and reactions that we get that we take for granted that could probably be making our lives a lot healthier.
Sarah Bello
I work with a lot of Koreans who drink a lot, and almost all of them will turn a bright red by the end of the night. I had no idea it was actually harmful though. How many other groups of people show these symptoms? I know my mom's side of the family tends to turn red when they drink.
-Nick cline
Very interesting article, and surprising that this is an indication of toxic build up. Also it is nice to know that the redness of the face is caused by some kind of warning and protection from alcohol by the body.
-Julio Rodriguez
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