Screenshot from Cancer Institute NSW
An online tool that calculates a person's risk for alcohol-related cancers has been made available in New South Wales.
The Alcohol and Cancer Risk tool, developed by Cancer Institute NSW, can calculate an individual's lifetime risk of cancers using their age, gender and weekly alcohol consumption. No personal data is stored or captured from users, according to a Cancer Institute NSW spokesperson.
The spokesperson told Mobihealth News that the calculator was developed using data analysed by the Daffodil Centre, a research partnership between the University of Sydney and Cancer Council NSW. Data sources include The Sax Institute's 45 and Up Study, NSW Cancer Registry, and the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
The tool was tested with different organisations, with user testing done with focus groups consisting of people aged over 25 who drank alcohol at varying levels.
However, the calculator targets adults above age 40, given the cumulative impacts of alcohol use and longer-term health impacts, noted the institute.
Cancer Institute NSW is working to promote the tool across NSW by partnering with local health districts, primary health networks and Cancer Council NSW. It also seeks opportunities to integrate the online calculator where appropriate, including NSW Health's Your Room, an online resource on alcohol and other drugs.
WHY IT MATTERS
Cancer Institute NSW noted that alcohol drinking is linked to eight types of cancer: female breast, liver, bowel, mouth and upper throat, larynx, oesophagus, neck, and stomach cancers, and contributes to an estimated 5,800 cancer cases each year in Australia.
"Alcohol is not only linked to eight different types of cancer but can also lead to a wide range of other health problems, including liver disease and heart issues," added the institute's senior clinical advisor Dr James Lynam.
"Cancer risk increases with every drink, and there is no level of alcohol that is completely safe when it comes to cancer," the institute stressed. In adults over 45 in NSW, the risk increases by a tenth with every seven drinks consumed per week.
"In NSW, one in three adults drinks more than the recommended guidelines, and we need more people to understand the dangers of drinking alcohol, including its proven link to cancer," NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said in a statement.
Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council recommends drinking no more than 10 standard drinks per week and no more than four standard drinks on any one day to reduce the risk of alcohol-related harm.
THE LARGER TREND
Early this year, the Far West Local Health District in New South Wales announced an initiative to deliver virtual access to the Magistrates Early Referral into Treatment, a state program offering treatment for individuals with alcohol and drug use problems, for people attending Broken Hill, Wilcannia and Wentworth local courts.
New Zealand has also made addiction services more accessible online. In 2023, the Ministry of Health launched a website for its Access and Choice program, allowing users to search for local providers of primary mental health and addiction services.
