A large Europe-wide study in the British Medical Journal found that one-in-10 of all cancers in men and one-in-33 of all cancers in women are caused by past or current alcohol intake.
For alcohol-related cancers, one-in-three in men and one-in-20 in women are caused by any excessive drinking.
Cancer charities say people should limit their drinking to lower the risk.
The study calculated that in 2008, current and past drinking habits were responsible for about 13,000 cases of alcohol-related cancer in the UK, out of a total of 304,000 cancer cases.
Previous research has shown a link between alcohol consumption and cancers of the oesophagus, liver, bowel and female breast.
When alcohol is broken down by the body it produces a chemical which can damage DNA, increasing the chance of developing cancer.
Source: BBC, 08/04/2011
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