Drinking alcohol ‘may increase risk of some types of breast cancer’
24. 08. 2010 | Cancer Research UK
A US study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, has confirmed suggestions that certain types of breast cancer are more common among women who regularly drink alcohol [1].
Image credit: shutterstock.com
Scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre followed 2,944 postmenopausal women, all of whom took part in the wider Women's Health Initiative study between 1993 and 1998.
All of the women involved in the latest analysis had been diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and the researchers looked at a wide range of data on each of them.
This included details about their tumours, such as whether they originated in the breast ducts (ductal tumours) or milk-producing lobes (lobular tumours) and chemical details about the tumours' sensitivity to the hormones oestrogen and progesterone.
They also examined lifestyle factors, such as the women's self-reported levels of alcohol consumption; family history of diseases; and whether or not they had children.
Read the whole article at Cancer Research UK
Reference
- Li CI, Chlebowski RT, et al. Alcohol consumption and risk of postmenopausal breast cancer by subtype: the women's health initiative observational study. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2010; 102(18): 1422–1431. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djq316.
Keywords: alcohol drinking, lobular breast cancer, ductal breast cancer