Consuming 3 to 4 alcoholic drinks or more per week after a breast cancer diagnosis may increase risk of breast cancer recurrence, particularly among postmenopausal and overweight/obese women, yet the cardioprotective effects of alcohol on non-breast cancer death were suggested.

 

Alcohol Consumption And Breast Cancer Recurrence And Survival Among Women With Early-Stage Breast Cancer: The Life After Cancer Epidemiology Study

Study conducted among the Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, CA; and the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.

The purpose of the study was to examine the association of alcohol consumption after breast cancer diagnosis with recurrence and mortality among early-stage breast cancer survivors.

Patients included 1897 LACE study participants diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer between 1997 and 2000 and recruited on average 2 years postdiagnosis, primarily from the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Cancer registry. Alcohol consumption (i.e., wine, beer, and liquor) was assessed at cohort entry using a food frequency questionnaire. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% CI with adjustment for known prognostic factors.

Conclusion: consuming 3 to 4 alcoholic drinks or more per week after a breast cancer diagnosis may increase risk of breast cancer recurrence, particularly among postmenopausal and overweight/obese women, yet the cardioprotective effects of alcohol on non-breast cancer death were suggested.