Alcohol Intake Increases Risk for Breast Cancer

Ask most women what would put them at high risk for breast cancer and the likely answer would be genetics, a close relative having suffered from the disease. According to a recent U.K. survey, most women are not aware that more likely causes are old age, obesity, late in life childbirth or never having children, not breastfeeding, and alcohol consumption.
According to the U.K. information, 80 percent of women do not know that alcohol can increase the risk of breast cancer. It isn’t clear why the intake of alcohol would increase the possibility of breast cancer, but a 2007 study of laboratory mice showed clearly that mice injected with estrogen-receptive positive adenocarcinoma cells and fed alcohol in their water supply had a much higher growth rate of the cancer cells than mice injected with the same cells and given only water. The amount of alcohol given to the mice over the four week period was listed as equivalent to "moderate" drinking in a human.
Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo said, “It’s shocking, even for me, to see the potential risks of drinking over recommended guidelines in black and white. One large glass of 12 percent wine takes a woman to her recommended daily limit in just one drink for regular drinking. Knowing the potential health consequences enables women to make choices that can reduce their risk of developing breast cancer.”
The U.K. study entailed 45,000 annual cases of breast cancer in a country where only 5 percent are attributed to family history and more than 80 percent of cancers occur in women over the age of 50. The lifetime risk of developing cancer is one in nine and drinking more than the recommended daily limit of alcohol could significantly increase that risk. Don Shenkar, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, said that wine is the drink of choice for most women who drink and supermarkets are responding to this by selling heavily discounted wine. Alcohol is generally 65 percent more affordable than in 1980 and since affordability of a product leads to increase in consumption supermarkets need to stop selling alcohol at such low prices.
In this country, over the past 20 years, women have increased consumption of alcohol even knowing the elevated risk of breast cancer and other health concerns. Estimates are that one out of every three American women drink, and 10 percent drink more than two drinks daily.
The adage of “a glass of wine a day is good for your heart” may hold true for men, but is not as clearly indicated for women. Men and women metabolize alcohol differently and indications are that there is a higher risk of liver cirrhosis in women who drink compared with men. Women who drink in moderation, one to three drinks per week, have been shown to have a lower rate of deaths from heart disease. Heavier drinking has been associated with a significant increase in risk for death from breast cancer and from cirrhosis. The type of drink does not affect the outcome, only the rate of alcohol consumption.
The age of the woman drinker does seem to have an effect. Heavier drinking earlier in life does not indicate an increase in breast cancer, only if the woman is postmenopausal. Women who are postmenopausal and who are taking hormone replacement therapy seem to be at particular risk. One possible reason for the age related differences may be that alcohol interferes with folate metabolism. Women who drink should take a folate supplement which may help reduce the risk of breast cancer. Most multi vitamins contained the recommended daily amount.
To drink or not to drink, a personal decision each woman must make. The decision should be based on research and fact, not just the decision that “It won’t happen to me.”