A new study just published on Feb 2011 in the journal of cancer makes a strong argument for applying hyperbaric oxygenation therapy (HBOT) for those patients who have had either surgery or radiation therapy for brain tumors. The study followed patients who had been treated with HBOT and there was a marked improvement in cognitive [...]
» Click Here to Read the full ArticleCHICAGO, IL — February 17, 1998 — Women who drink two to five alcoholic beverages each day have a 41 percent increased risk for breast cancer when compared with women who do not drink alcohol, according to a review article in tomorrow’s issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.
Stephanie Smith-Warner, Ph.D., of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, MA., and colleagues analysed six prospective studies conducted in Canada, The Netherlands, Sweden and the United States to assess the risk of invasive breast cancer associated with alcohol consumption. The studies included a total of 322,647 women evaluated over 11 years, including 4,335 women who had breast cancer.
The researchers found that for each 10 grams of alcohol consumed per day (equal to 0.75 to 1.0 drink), there was an increased risk for invasive breast cancer of nine percent. Women who consumed 30g to 60g of alcohol per day had 41 percent higher risk for invasive breast cancer than nondrinkers. Women who drank at least 60g of alcohol per day had a 31 percent higher risk for invasive breast cancer.
Drinking 30g to 60g of alcohol per day would be equivalent to approximately 2.3-4.5 bottles of beer, 2.8-5.6 glasses of wine or two to four shots of liquor.
“Since moderate alcohol consumption is associated with reduced risks of cardiovascular disease and overall mortality among women, the risk-benefit ratio of alcohol consumption is complex,” the authors write. “Ultimately, analyses simultaneously considering cancer, cardiovascular disease and other end points, such as traffic accidents and domestic trauma, are required to define the costs and benefits of alcohol consumption.
“Meanwhile, reduction of regular alcohol consumption in women is likely to reduce breast cancer risk.”
The researchers also found that women who consumed two to three drinks per day had a 50 percent higher risk of dying from breast cancer when compared with nondrinkers. However, women who consumed at least four drinks a day showed no increase in the rate of death from breast cancer when compared with nondrinkers.
The authors explain that the weaker association between higher alcohol consumption and breast cancer risk may be due to increased measurement error at higher intakes, the small sample size in the highest consumption category (only one percent of study participants said they drank more than 60 grams of alcohol per day) or a physiologic phenomenon where breast cancer risk may plateau after a certain level.
“This study provides further evidence that alcohol consumption increases breast cancer risk among women,” the authors write. “Future research should focus on the effects of drinking patterns, the influence of early drinking on risks associated with drinking at later ages, the potential effects of high alcohol consumption and the potential mechanisms by which alcohol may effect breast cancer risk.”
