A review of over 100 research papers into the association between breast cancer and alcohol has found that having just one drink a day can increase the risk of the cancer by five per cent, with three or more drinks a day increasing the risk by 50 per cent. Alcohol is known to affect the female hormone oestrogen which drives the growth of breast cancer cells.
The authors, from the University of Heidelberg, Germany 
and the University of Milan, Italy wrote that the numbers of women dying from breast cancer due to alcohol “represents a major public health issue…”
Whilst it has been known for a long time that excessive alcohol consumption increases cancer risk, this new report conclusively states that even small amounts of alcohol can increase this risk. One drink was defined in the study as the equivalent of a small glass of wine or a pint of lager.
The advice for women, particularly those with a family history of breast cancer, is that they should avoid alcohol or drink it only occasionally. Around 12,000 women die from breast cancer in the UK every year and it now appears clear that thousands of these are caused by alcohol and are therefore preventable.
