Alcohol influences breast cancer recurrence
Among women who survive early-stage breast cancer, some who make a habit of having a few drinks per week face a higher risk of a recurrence.
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Among women who survive early-stage breast cancer, some who make a habit of having a few drinks per week face a higher risk of a recurrence than survivors who abstain.
To examine the association of alcohol consumption after breast cancer diagnosis with recurrence and mortality among early-stage breast cancer survivors, researchers followed 1,897 American women treated for early breast cancer for just over seven years. During that time, 293 women had a cancer recurrence and 273 died due to breast cancer or other causes. Of all, 478 of the women were considered regular drinkers, reporting the equivalent of three to four alcoholic beverages a week; 78 of those women, or 15 percent, had a breast cancer recurrence, and 42 (around 10 percent) died from the disease. In comparison, almost 15 percent of the 939 non-drinkers had a breast cancer recurrence, and nearly 8 percent died of the disease.
When the researchers factored in a number of other variables - like age, body weight at the time of diagnosis and treatment type - regular drinkers were found to be 35 percent more likely to have a recurrence than abstainers. They also had a 50 percent greater chance of dying from breast cancer (which would increase an average absolute 5-year mortality risk of 10 to 15 percent).
The bulk of that elevated risk fell on postmenopausal and obese women, however. There was some evidence of raised risk of recurrence or breast cancer death among premenopausal and normal-weight women who regularly drank, but the findings were not statistically significant, which means they could have been due to chance.
The findings add to a conflicting body of research into whether moderate drinking may shorten the lives of women with a history of breast cancer.
To examine the association of alcohol consumption after breast cancer diagnosis with recurrence and mortality among early-stage breast cancer survivors, researchers followed 1,897 American women treated for early breast cancer for just over seven years. During that time, 293 women had a cancer recurrence and 273 died due to breast cancer or other causes. Of all, 478 of the women were considered regular drinkers, reporting the equivalent of three to four alcoholic beverages a week; 78 of those women, or 15 percent, had a breast cancer recurrence, and 42 (around 10 percent) died from the disease. In comparison, almost 15 percent of the 939 non-drinkers had a breast cancer recurrence, and nearly 8 percent died of the disease.
When the researchers factored in a number of other variables - like age, body weight at the time of diagnosis and treatment type - regular drinkers were found to be 35 percent more likely to have a recurrence than abstainers. They also had a 50 percent greater chance of dying from breast cancer (which would increase an average absolute 5-year mortality risk of 10 to 15 percent).
The bulk of that elevated risk fell on postmenopausal and obese women, however. There was some evidence of raised risk of recurrence or breast cancer death among premenopausal and normal-weight women who regularly drank, but the findings were not statistically significant, which means they could have been due to chance.
The findings add to a conflicting body of research into whether moderate drinking may shorten the lives of women with a history of breast cancer.
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