To add to the discussion, lets not forget the threads on resveratrol from the Articles of Interest Forum:
http://her2support.org/vbulletin/sho...eferrerid=1173
http://her2support.org/vbulletin/sho...rid=1173<br />
Also, here are two abstracts I found when researching this topic many months ago:
Role of alcohol and genetic polymorphisms of CYP2E1 and ALDH2 in breast cancer development.
- Choi JY,
- Abel J,
- Neuhaus T,
- Ko Y,
- Harth V,
- Hamajima N,
- Tajima K,
- Yoo KY,
- Park SK,
- Noh DY,
- Han W,
- Choe KJ,
- Ahn SH,
- Kim SU,
- Hirvonen A,
- Kang D.
Department of Preventive Medicine, General Surgery and Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 27 Yongon-Dong, Chongno-Gu, Seoul 110-799, Korea.
OBJECTIVE: We examined the potential association between alcohol consumption and genetic polymorphisms in the alcohol metabolizing enzymes, CYP2E1 and ALDH2, in individual susceptibility to breast cancer in a Korean study population. METHODS: Three hundred and forty-six histologically confirmed breast cancer patients and 377 controls with no present or previous history of cancer were recruited from several teaching hospitals in Seoul during 1995-2001. The CYP2E1 RsaI polymorphism was determined by a real time PCR method, and the ALDH2 Glu487 Lys polymorphism was determined by a PCR method with confronting two-pair primers (PCR-CTPP). RESULTS: The drinking women had a 1.4-fold risk for breast cancer (95% CI = 0.99-2.11) compared to never drinkers after adjustment for age and family history of breast cancer. No statistically significant overall differences were seen in the genotype frequencies between breast cancer cases and controls. However, the "ever"-drinking women with the CYP2E1 c2 allele containing genotypes had a 1.9-fold risk (95% CI = 0.99-3.83) for developing breast cancer compared to non-drinkers with the CYP2E1 c1/c1 genotype (P for interaction = 0.043). CONCLUSION: This study therefore suggests that the CYP2E1 c2 allele may influence the individual susceptibility to breast cancer in alcohol-consuming women.
PMID: 12563175 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Alcohol consumption, glutathione S-transferase M1 and T1 genetic polymorphisms and breast cancer risk.
Department of Preventive Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Institute of Environmental Medicine, SNUMRC, Korea.
To evaluate the potential association between GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotypes and development of breast cancer, a hospital based case-control study was conducted in a South Korean study population consisting of 189 histologically confirmed incident breast cancer cases and their 189 age-matched control subjects with no present or previous history of cancer. A multiplex polymerase chain reaction method was used for the genotyping analyses and statistical evaluations were performed by unconditional logistic regression model. The GSTM1 null genotype was significantly associated with breast cancer risk in premenopausal women [odds ratio (OR) = 2.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1-3.7], but not in the postmenopausal women (OR = 0.9, 95% CI = 0.5-1.9), nor in all women grouped together (OR = 1.3, 95% CI = 0.8-1.1). The GSTT1 null genotype posed a similar risk of breast cancer with an OR of 1.6 (95% CI = 1.0-2.5) for the total breast cancer group, OR of 1.7 (95% CI = 0.9-3.2) for pre-menopausal women, and OR of 1.3 (95% CI = 0.6-2.8) for post-menopausal women. The breast cancer risk associated with concurrent lack of both GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes was 2.2 (95% CI = 1.1-4.5), and the risk increased as the number of null genotype increased (P for trend = 0.03). When the data were stratified by the known risk factors of breast cancer, a significant interaction was observed between the GSTM1 genotypes and alcohol consumption (P for interaction = 0.03). An especially remarkable risk of breast cancer was observed for alcohol-consuming premenopausal women lacking both the GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes (OR = 5.3, 95% CI = 1.0-27.8) compared to those with both of the genes. Our findings thus suggest a novel gene-environment interaction which plays an important role in the individual susceptibility to breast cancer. p6
PMID: 10862521 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
It is my opinion that some sort of genetics beyond just the damaging effects of alcohol are involved here. I have long wondered, as Grace voiced above, why the bc rate would not be higher in Europe, where young people consume wine with family meals beginning at a young age, or lower in Muslim countries, where alcohol is forbidden, if this alone was the key to so much bc. Wine is my hobby, and though I know I fit the definition of "high" consumption (i.e., over 5 glasses a week) my doctors are aware of this and none have advised me to change this habit. I have stopped having any wine on days when I am not attending a wine related function, which has resulted in a 5 pound weight loss - those calories add up!
Hopeful