McNabb S, et al. - Via conducting a combined analysis of 16 studies of colorectal cancer (CRC), researchers examined how alcohol is associated with CRC. Further, they assessed potential effect modifiers of the association, and examined differential effects of alcohol consumption by cancer anatomic site and stage. Alcohol consumption information for 14,276 CRC patients and 15,802 controls was collected from case–control and nested case–control studies of CRC. Compared with non−and occasional drinking (≤ 1 g/day), they noted association of light/moderate drinking (up to 2 drinks/day) with a decreased risk of CRC, no significant association of heavy drinking (2–3 drinks/day) with CRC risk, and association of very heavy drinking (> 3 drinks/day) with a significant increased risk. Overall, alcohol consumption and CRC risk have a J-shaped association. Other CRC risk factors did not seem to significantly modify this overall pattern, and there was no effect heterogeneity by tumor site or stage.