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Alcohol Breast Cancer

November 7, 2011 by · Comments Off on Alcohol Breast Cancer 

Alcohol Breast Cancer, The chances for developing breast cancer are higher for women who drink just three alcoholic beverages a week compared with teetotalers, a study of more than 100,000 U.S. nurses found.

While the link between alcohol and breast cancer isn’t new, most previous studies found no increased risk for breast cancer among light drinkers. According to The Associated Press, experts say the new research provides compelling evidence because it followed so many women for up to almost 30 years.

Still, the study only shows an association between alcohol and breast cancer; it doesn’t prove that light drinking causes the disease. There could be some other reason why light drinkers appeared to be at higher risk, Dr. Susan Love, a breast cancer expert and author who runs a Santa Monica-based research foundation, told AP. Maybe they were less active than nondrinkers or had unhealthy diets, Love added.

Women in the study who consumed three to six drinks a week throughout the study had a 15 percent higher chance of developing breast cancer than nondrinkers. What that means for women in their 50s — who on average face a 2.38 percent risk for breast cancer — is that light drinking would result in four additional cases of breast cancer per 1,000 women.

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