Reasonable Drinking OK for Breast Cancer Survivors? - WebMD

Women who eat up alcohol in moderation have lower danger of heart disease death, experts increase WebMD Information from HealthDay By Kathleen Doheny HealthDay Writer THURSDAY, April 9 (HealthDay News) -- Women who have survived breast cancer can consume alcohol in moderation, new research shows. General, mild drinking before or following a diagnosis of breast cancer does not appear to have a damaging effect on survival from breast cancer, the analysis found. When researchers looked only at moderate drinking before a cancer diagnosis, it absolutely was linked with a 15 percent lower threat of dying from breast cancer compared to nondrinkers, said research author Polly Newcomb, head of the cancer prevention software at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, in Seattle. Women who drank averagely before or after a breast cancer prognosis had a percent lower risk of death from cardiovascular infection and a percent lower risk of death from other causes during the 11 years the girls were used. Newcomb's team found an organization, and not just a cause-and-effect relationship, for moderate alcohol consumption and survival. The results ''should be reassuring to women," said Newcomb, who is also a study professor at the University of Washington. It is known that alcohol consumption does raise the threat of getting breast cancer. "Our emphasis was on breast cancer survivors," Newcomb said, as they often wonder whether they should consume alcohol or not. Women were evaluated nearly 23,000 by newcomb. All reported on their intake of alcohol before examination, and about 5,000 reported on their intake after. The follow-up was just over a decade, an average of. The research was printed April 8 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Women were evaluated by newcomb participating research of risk facets for breast cancer sponsored by the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI). It started in 1988. Small follow-up study of drinking practices after examination included about 5,000 girls and was conducted from 1998 to 2001. Newcomb said, those that participated were similar with regards to age and other qualities than the non-responders from the larger sample, suggesting the results are reliable, although the post-diagnosis sample of survivors was smaller. Throughout the follow-up period, 7,780 deaths happened, including nearly 3,500 from breast cancer. Newcomb looked over deaths and alcohol habits. Women who had three to six drinks per week -- considered average drinking -- before examination had in regards to a 15 percent lower danger of death from breast cancer than nondrinkers, she found. What might explain the difference in alcohol's effect -- that it raises the danger of getting the disease but does not affect the general success? Alcohol intake is considered to improve the threat of getting breast cancer as a result of increases in estrogen production, Newcomb said. It could be the type of breast cancer almost certainly can be found among women who drink might merely be much more tuned in to treatments that lower estrogen.

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