The study followed 100,000 women over 30 years and just the latest in several studies linking alcohol consumption to increased risk in breast cancer.
This study distinguishes itself by demonstrating relatively small amounts of alcohol over long periods of time leads to increased breast cancer risk.
Women who drink three to six glasses, or 5 to 10 grams of wine weekly show a 15 percent greater chance of getting breast cancer. Each additional 10 grams increases risk by 10 percent.
The New York Times points out that the risk increase from alcohol is very small for the average woman: a typical 50-year-old has a five year breast cancer risk of about 3 percent, and a 15 percent increase in risk only raises her risk to about 3.45 percent.
Doctors quoted in the New York Times point out that moderate drinking, despite the minimal increase in breast cancer risk, does create a lower risk for heart disease.
The study only shows an association between alcohol and breast cancer, but doesn't say that alcohol is the cause of cancer.
The Free Press reports:
The results don't mean women can avoid breast cancer by not drinking, and they don't answer whether women can lower their risk if they stop drinking, said breast cancer specialist Dr. David Winchester, chief of surgical oncology with NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, Ill.