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TOKYO, Sept 13 (AFP) - Men who drink alcohol on a regular basis are twice more likely to develop colon cancer than those who do not, a report said Saturday, citing a study by a Japanese cancer center.
The research team, led by Kenji Wakai, a senior researcher of the Aichi Cancer Center, reached the conclusion after studying the lifestyle of about 58, 000 men and women, Kyodo news agency said.
Wakai and his fellow researchers studied the lifestyle of the sample people, who were aged between 40 and 79, over a three-year period to 1990 and conducted follow-ups that lasted seven-and-a-half years on average.
The team found that about 420 of the 58,000 people developed colon cancer during the follow-up period, and calculated the case rate of colon cancer among drinkers, non-drinkers and those who were abstaining from drinking.
The team found that the rate of developing colon cancer was nearly twice as high among drinking males than non-drinkers.
Kyodo also quoted Wakai as saying giving up alcohol would not reduce the risk immediately as those who abstained from alcohol during the follow-up period had more or less the same propensity of developing colon cancer as those who were drinking.
For women, the study found that only those who were abstaining from alcohol had higher risks but the team has yet to find the explanation, the report said.
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