All drink 'carries breast cancer risk'

Drinking any kind of alcohol adds to the risk of developing breast cancer, researchers said today.

Previous studies have shown a link but there have been conflicting messages about whether different kinds of drink such as wine, beer and spirits were more dangerous than others.

“This is a hugely underestimated risk factor,” said Dr. Patrick Maisonneuve, head of epidemiology at the European Institute of Oncology in Italy.

“Women drinking wine because they think it is healthier than beer are wrong,” he said. “It’s about the amount of alcohol consumed, not the type.”

The researchers, led by Dr. Arthur Klatsky of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in America revealed their findings at a meeting of the European Cancer Organisation in Barcelona.

Researchers analysed the drinking habits of 70,033 women of various races, and asked them questions during health exams between 1978 and 1985. By 2004, 2,829 of these women had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

They looked at which types of alcohol the women drank, as well as their total alcohol intake and compared that to women who drank less than one drink a day.

Researchers found no difference in the risk of developing breast cancer among women who drank wine, beer, or spirits.

Compared to light drinkers – those who drank less than one drink a day – women who had one or two drinks a day increased their risk of developing breast cancer by 10 per cent. Women who drank more than three drinks a day raised their risk by 30 per cent.

“A 30 per cent increased risk is not trivial,” Dr Klatsky said. “It provides more evidence for why heavy drinkers should quit or cut down.”

Some experts said that people might be confused by suggestions that drinking red wine is healthy, since some studies have suggested that it protects against heart disease.

“None of these mechanisms have anything to do with breast cancer,” Dr Klatsky said.

Though it is not entirely clear how alcohol contributes to breast cancer, some experts think it raises hormone levels in the blood to levels that could potentially cause cancer.

More public education may be needed. “Alcohol has had a lot of good publicity. People may not realize the risk they’re taking when they have a few drinks,” said Tim Key, of the Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit at Oxford.

“Any alcohol consumption will raise your breast cancer risk,” Mr Key said. “Women don’t have to abstain from alcohol entirely, but they need to be aware of the risks they’re taking when they have a few too many drinks.”