By changing this behavior, you can cut your risk of breast cancer

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that breast cancer is the most common alcohol-associated cancer among women. But most Americans don't know that alcohol is a risk factor.

"Lifestyle modification, including reduced alcohol use, can help decrease the risk of breast cancer, and that's something that everyone should understand," said Jill S. Oxley, MD, FACS, a breast surgeon who is director of Breast Care Services at Cape Cod Healthcare.

Researchers don't know exactly how alcohol use can lead to breast cancer. "It's thought that by manipulating hormones, it increases the risk of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer," she said. "We do know that the risk of developing hormone receptor-positive breast cancer can decrease with decreased alcohol intake."

A study in A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, which is published by the American Cancer Society, indicated that about 16 percent of all breast cancer cases are attributed to alcohol, while 11 percent were attributed to excess body weight and 7 percent to inactivity.

"Those are all lifestyle causes over which we have some degree of control, as opposed to genetic causes," she said.

Each Daily Drink Adds Risk

Breast cancer accounts for over half of alcohol-related cancer deaths, according to the U.S. Surgeon General.

"We know that each drink per day increases the risk of developing breast cancer by about 10 percent," said Dr. Oxley. "If someone is at average risk, which would be about 13 percent for a woman in the U.S., that may not seem like much. But if somebody is at high risk of developing breast cancer, say 30 percent or more, every 10 percent can really make a big impact. Binge drinking is associated with up to a 50 percent increase in the risk of developing breast cancer."

What does Dr. Oxley advise for people who like to enjoy a nightly glass of wine or cocktail?

"I recommend that people don't drink every day," she said. "We want to limit alcohol to on average less than one drink a day, and not having them all at once, so no binge drinking.

"For people who are daily drinkers, a lot of it is a habit - have a glass of wine while you're making dinner and have another glass of wine while you're eating dinner. Cut it back to just one and give yourself a night off at least once a week."

Limiting alcohol consumption is one of the modifiable risk factors, along with maintaining a healthy body weight and getting regular exercise, she added.

"These are things that we tell everybody, whether they've been diagnosed with breast cancer or not. There's good data all of these are good for breast health, and they are also good for many other body parts too. It's good for blood pressure, good for heart disease, good for the colon."

Younger Women are More Aware

Dr. Oxley pointed to a study that was published last year in BMC Women's Health, which found that younger women (ages 18 to 34) had the highest awareness (nearly 42 percent) of the link between alcohol consumption and breast cancer, compared to 24 percent of women overall. Of the breast cancer survivors in the study, only 30 percent of them were aware of the risk.

"Once they were told about the risk, only 10 percent of survivors quit drinking, 45 percent didn't change their drinking habits and 34 percent actually increased their alcohol intake.

"For someone who's been diagnosed with breast cancer, we don't have any data on the effects of alcohol in the risk of developing a second breast cancer, but I generally recommend the same healthy lifestyle choices to everyone, whether they've been diagnosed with breast cancer or not. So, I do recommend that women who are regular drinkers cut back."