[Jackie07]

J Clin Oncol. 2010 Oct 10;28(29):4410-6. Epub 2010 Aug 30.
Alcohol consumption and breast cancer recurrence and survival among women with early-stage breast cancer: the life after cancer epidemiology study.

Kwan ML, Kushi LH, Weltzien E, Tam EK, Castillo A, Sweeney C, Caan BJ.
Source

Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente, 2000 Oakland, CA 94612, USA. Marilyn.L.Kwan@kp.org

Abstract

PURPOSE:

To examine the association of alcohol consumption after breast cancer diagnosis with recurrence and mortality among early-stage breast cancer survivors.
PATIENTS AND METHODS:

Patients included 1,897 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 (ie, 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.
RESULTS:

Two hundred ninety-three breast cancer recurrences and 273 overall deaths were ascertained after an average follow-up of 7.4 years. Nine hundred fifty-eight women (51%) were considered drinkers (> 0.5 g/d of alcohol), and the majority drank wine (89%). Drinking ≥ 6 g/d of alcohol compared with no drinking was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer recurrence (HR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.83) and death due to breast cancer (HR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.00 to 2.29). The increased risk of recurrence appeared to be greater among postmenopausal (HR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.05 to 2.19) and overweight and obese women (HR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.08 to 2.38). Alcohol intake was not associated with all-cause death and possibly associated with decreased risk of non-breast cancer death.
CONCLUSION:

Consuming three to four 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.