Regular consumption of three to four alcoholic drinks per week increases the risk of breast cancer recurrence and death from breast cancer, a study of breast cancer survivors suggests. Postmenopausal and overweight or obese women are at greatest risk.
Marilyn L. Kwan, PhD, of Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, California, and her associates examined the association of alcohol consumption after a diagnosis of breast cancer and recurrence and mortality in 1897 participants in the Life After Cancer Epidemiology study. The subjects had been diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer between 1997 and 2000 and recruited on average 2 years postdiagnosis. The results are reported online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
After an average 7.4 years of follow up, 293 breast cancer recurrences and 273 overall deaths were documented; 154 deaths were attributed to breast cancer.
Of the 1897 subjects, 958 were considered drinkers (>0.5 g/day of alcohol); the majority drank wine.
Compared with nondrinkers, women who drank ≥6 g/day of alcohol had a 1.3-fold increased risk of breast cancer recurrence and a 1.5-fold increased risk of death from breast cancer. Greater alcohol consumption was associated with an increased risk of recurrence. The increased risk of recurrence appeared to be greater among postmenopausal and those who were overweight or obese.
Alcohol consumption was not associated with all-cause mortality. A possible association between with alcohol use and reduced non-breast cancer mortality was noted, probably due to alcohol’s cardioprotective effects, the authors suggest.