Can the exposome help solve the alcohol and cancer mystery?
- 1Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
Abstract
Alcohol consumption is a preventable driver of many cancers, yet a central biological question remains unresolved: by what mechanisms does ethanol promote malignancy? We propose that alcohol in the context of the exposome (i.e., the network of chemical, biological, and social determinants that interact with ethanol across the life span) provides a unifying framework for understanding alcohol-related carcinogenesis. Viewed through the lens of the exposome, alcohol is not only as a direct carcinogen but also as a systemic amplifier of environmental risk acting across multiple levels of biological organization, from molecular damage to whole-body physiology. This reframing has important implications for mechanistic research, precision prevention, and public-health policy.
Alcohol is a preventable cause of cancer, but the mechanisms linking its consumption to malignancy remain incompletely understood. This Unsolved Mystery explores alcohol’s carcinogenic effects through an exposome lens, arguing that alcohol acts as an amplifier of environmental risk, with important implications for prevention, public health policy, and future research.
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BibTeX
@article{vasiliou2026exposome,
title = {{Can the exposome help solve the alcohol and cancer mystery?}},
author = {Vasilis Vasiliou and Arthur Stem and David C. Thompson},
journal = {PLOS Biology},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pbio.3004100},
url = {https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3004100},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Can the exposome help solve the alcohol and cancer mystery?
AU - Vasilis Vasiliou
AU - Arthur Stem
AU - David C. Thompson
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/05
JO - PLOS Biology
DO - 10.1371/journal.pbio.3004100
UR - https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3004100
AB - Alcohol consumption is a preventable driver of many cancers, yet a central biological question remains unresolved: by what mechanisms does ethanol promote malignancy? We propose that alcohol in the context of the exposome (i.e., the network of chemical, biological, and social determinants that interact with ethanol across the life span) provides a unifying framework for understanding alcohol-related carcinogenesis. Viewed through the lens of the exposome, alcohol is not only as a direct carcinogen but also as a systemic amplifier of environmental risk acting across multiple levels of biological organization, from molecular damage to whole-body physiology. This reframing has important implications for mechanistic research, precision prevention, and public-health policy. Alcohol is a preventable cause of cancer, but the mechanisms linking its consumption to malignancy remain incompletely understood. This Unsolved Mystery explores alcohol’s carcinogenic effects through an exposome lens, arguing that alcohol acts as an amplifier of environmental risk, with important implications for prevention, public health policy, and future research.
SN - 1545-7885
ER -