Moderate Drinking Increases Breast Cancer Risk

Even moderate alcohol consumption increases the risk of a common form of breast cancer in post-menopausal women, according to research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 2008 annual meeting in San Diego.

The study, reported by UPI April 14, found that even one or two drinks per day increased risk of developing ERplus/PRplus breast cancer, and the more a woman drank, the higher her risk. ERplus/PRplus is a form of breast cancer classified as positive for both the estrogen and progesterone receptors.

"Our study shows that not only does a small amount of alcohol significantly increase the risk of breast cancer, it increases the risk of the most common type of breast cancer, responsible for around 70 percent of cases," said lead researcher Jasmine Lew, from the National Cancer Institute.

The data show as much as a 51 percent increased risk of breast cancer in women who drank three of more glasses of alcohol daily compared to women who did not drink at all.

"This suggests that a woman should evaluate consumption of alcohol along with other known breast cancer risk factors, such as use of hormone replacement therapy," Lew stated.