Alcohol Consumption and Breast Cancer Recurrence and Survival among Women with Early-Stage Breast Cancer.

Abstract

Abstract Purpose: To describe alcohol consumption and examine its association with breast cancer recurrence and mortality in the Life After Cancer Epidemiology (LACE) study, a prospective cohort study of early-stage breast cancer survivors.Methods: Patients included 1897 participants diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer between 1997 and 2000 and recruited primarily from the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Cancer Registry. Alcohol consumption (beer, wine, and liquor) was assessed at cohort entry using a food frequency questionnaire. A total of 349 breast cancer recurrences and 332 overall deaths were ascertained after an average follow-up of 5.93 years. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals.Results: A total of 958 women (51%) were considered drinkers (>0.5 g of alcohol per day), and the majority drank wine (90%), followed by liquor (43%), and beer (36%). Drinking ≥6 g/day of alcohol compared to minimal or no drinking (≤0.5 g/day) was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer recurrence (HR = 1.34; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.82) and death (HR = 1.51; 95% CI: 1.00, 2.28). The increased risk of recurrence appeared to be greater among postmenopausal (P for trend = .03) and overweight or obese women (P for trend = .03). No associations were observed for risk of overall mortality and alcohol use.Conclusions: Consuming 3 to 4 alcoholic drinks or more per week might be related to an increased risk of breast cancer recurrence, particularly among postmenopausal and heavier women, regardless of other prognostic factors. While additional prospective studies are needed, these observations suggest that after a breast cancer diagnosis, women should consider limiting their consumption of alcohol. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 17.