Cigarettes or Alcohol Consumption is the Main Cause of Breast Cancer

Brest cancer is a very dangerous disease. Researchers found that among women who have had cancer in one breast, drinking alcohol may increase risk of developing cancer in the other breast. However, this association is not seen with smoking.

For example consuming three or more alcoholic beverages per day raises a woman's breast cancer risk approximately as much as smoking a pack of cigarettes daily, according to a large-scale study presented at the European Cancer Conference in Barcelona, Spain.

Women who have survived a breast cancer are at an increased risk of developing the disease in the other breast if they will start drinking alcohol, said researchers. It is likely that women who do suffer from a second breast cancer have a higher prevalence of risk factors than those who do not develop it.

A recent investigation was made by Canadian researchers. They examined the role of alcohol intake or cigarette smoking, two possible modifiable risk factors, in the development of a second breast cancer. They studied 2107 women younger than 55 years of age diagnosed with breast cancer. Out of these, 708 women had developed a second cancer in the opposite breast while the other 1399 women having only one-sided cancer, acted as controls.

The team matched the women with a second new breast cancer with the women with cancer in one breast by birth year, diagnosis year, registry region, race, and radiation treatment. They then compared the women's self-reported history of alcohol consumption and cig smoking.

No significant increased risk was found associated with cigarette smoking, while regular alcohol consumption conferred a 30-percent elevated risk of developing cancer in the second breast. Compared with non-drinkers, longer duration alcohol consumption appeared to increase risk for cancer in the opposite breast.

The researchers concluded that women with a history of cancer in one breast have an increased risk of developing cancer in the second breast, the risk rising with alcohol consumption.