Breast Cancer Center of Excellence

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Alcohol & Breast Cancer Risk

Many of the causes of breast cancer are known, but many are not. One established risk factor is alcohol drinking. In fact, it is the best documented risk factor other than familial and hormonal risk factors (such as number of pregnancies and age at menopause). The reasons why alcohol drinking causes breast cancer have not been well studied. This is an important issue because many women make lifestyle choices about drinking, and there is data that moderate drinking prevents heart disease. Also, alcohol drinking can adversely interact with hormone replacement therapy to further increase breast cancer risk. It is also important to study alcohol drinking because many of the reasons why it causes breast cancer are the same for other risk factors, such as diet