Rethinking ethanol consumption and colorectal carcinogenesis: an insight from diet and gut microbiota - Critical evaluation and future research challenges

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by Mimi

Colorectal cancer is shaped by lifestyle and diet, with ethanol consumption recognized as a key modifiable risk factor. Changes in intestinal microbiota have been reported in both high alcohol consumers and during the progression from intestinal polyps to colorectal cancer. This perspective critically assesses how diet–microbiota–host mechanisms may mediate alcohol-induced toxicity and inform the etiological link between alcohol intake and CRC risk, synthesizing recent advances and outlining challenges for future research, including data from an Asturias pilot study.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Ethanol as a carcinogen and CRC risk

Alcohol consumption patterns and geographic context

Asturias: regional burden and research rationale

Perspective scope and pilot study focus

TYPE Perspective PUBLISHED 02 June 2026 DOI 10.3389/fcimb.2026.1761330 OPEN ACCESS EDITED BY Neeraj Kapur, University of Kentucky, United States REVIEWED BY Shahid Khan, University of Alabama in Huntsville, United States Sarayu Bhogoju, University of Kentucky, United States *CORRESPONDENCE [Clara G. de](Clara G. de) los Reyes-Gavil´an greyes_gavilan@ipla. csic. es †PRESENT ADDRESS Platelet Research Lab, Instituto de Investigacio´n Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias (ISPA), Oviedo, Spain RECEIVED 05 December 2025 REVISED 25 March 2026 ACCEPTED 06 April 2026 PUBLISHED 02 June 2026 CITATION Go´mez-Pe´rez E, Ruiz-Saavedra S, Zapico A, Su´arez A, Diaz Y, Gonz´alez del Rey C, Salazar N, Gonz´alez S and de los Reyes-Gavil´an CG (2026) Rethinking ethanol consumption and colorectal carcinogenesis: an insight from diet and gut microbiota. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol. 16:1761330 . doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2026.1761330 COPYRIGHT © 2026 Go´ mez-Pe´rez, Ruiz-Saavedra, Zapico, Su´arez, Diaz, Gonz´alez del Rey, Salazar, Gonz´alezand de los Reyes-Gavil´an. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Rethinking ethanol consumption and colorectal carcinogenesis: an insight from diet and gut microbiota Eva Go´ mez-P´erez 1,2, Sergio Ruiz-Saavedra 2,3†, Aida Zapico 1,2, Adolfo Su´arez 2,4, Ylenia Diaz 5, Carmen Gonz´alez del Rey 6, Nuria Salazar 2,3, Sonia Gonz´alez1,[2](2 and Clara G. de)[ and Clara G. de](2 and Clara G. de) los Reyes-Gavil´an 2,3* 1 Department of Functional Biology, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain, 2 Diet, Microbiota and Health Group, Instituto de Investigacio´n Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias (ISPA), Oviedo, Spain, 3 Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry of Dairy Products, Instituto de Productos L´acteos de Asturias (IPLA-CSIC), Oviedo, Spain, 4 Digestive Service, Central University Hospital of Asturias (HUCA), Oviedo, Spain, 5 Digestive Service, Carmen and Severo Ochoa Hospital, Cangas del Narcea, Spain, 6 Department of Anatomical Pathology, Central University Hospital of Asturias (HUCA), Oviedo, Spain Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a pathology highly inﬂuenced by lifestyle and dietary habits, with ethanol consumption recognized as one of the most impactful and modiﬁable risk factors. Intestinal microbiota alterations have been observed both in high alcohol consumers and in the progression of intestinal polyps to CRC. The diet-microbiota-host interplay has a key role in health and disease. This perspective critically evaluates the mechanistic interplay within this triad and its potential role in mediating alcohol-induced toxicity, as well as its implications for theetiological link between alcohol consumption and CRC risk. Furthermore, we synthesize current advances and delineate key challenges for future research in this area. A particular focus is posed on the analysis of the anatomopathological, nutritional and microbiota data collected from individuals with intestinal polyps ina pilot study carried out in the region of Asturias, Northern Spain. KEYWORDS acetaldehyde, alcohol, colorectal cancer, conventional adenomas, dietary ﬁbre, ethanol, intestinal polyps, microbiota 1 Introduction Ethanol is responsible for about 5% of the global burden of disease and injury (WHO, 2020) . It has been classiﬁed by the International Agency of Research on Cancer (IARC) within the Group 1 of carcinogens and was associated with 740.000 new cases of cancer each year globally (Rumgay et al., 2021) . The relative risk of cancer appears to increase in a dose

FAQs

Why is ethanol consumption considered a significant colorectal cancer risk factor?

Ethanol has been classified as a Group 1 carcinogen and evidence indicates cancer risk increases with dose, with no safe level of ethanol consumption concluded by the WHO. CRC risk is also reported to rise with intakes above 12 g/day.

How does intestinal microbiota connect alcohol intake to colorectal carcinogenesis?

Intestinal microbiota alterations are observed in high alcohol consumers and during progression from intestinal polyps to CRC. The diet–microbiota–host interplay is emphasized as a key mechanism potentially mediating alcohol-induced toxicity.

What is the purpose of this perspective article?

It critically evaluates mechanistic interplay among diet, microbiota, and host in mediating alcohol-induced toxicity, and discusses implications for the etiological link between alcohol consumption and CRC risk. It also synthesizes current advances and highlights key challenges for future research, including analysis of anatomopathological, nutritional, and microbiota data from an Asturias pilot study.

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by Mimi