title: Links between alcohol consumption and breast cancer: a look at the evidence.
abstract: Alcohol consumption by adult women is consistently associated with risk of breast cancer. Several questions regarding alcohol and breast cancer need to be addressed. Menarche to first pregnancy represents a window of time when breast tissue is particularly susceptible to carcinogens. Youth alcohol consumption is common in the USA, largely in the form of binge drinking and heavy drinking. Whether alcohol intake acts early in the process of breast tumorigenesis is unclear. This review aims to focus on the influences of timing and patterns of alcohol consumption and the effect of alcohol on intermediate risk markers. We also review possible mechanisms underlying the alcohol-breast cancer association.
authors.affiliation: Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S Euclid Ave, St Louis, MO 63110, USA.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Nhi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Graham A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Colditz
mesh_terms: D000079:Acetaldehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000378:metabolism; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000378:metabolism; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000378:metabolism; D004967:Estrogens / Q000378:metabolism; D000431:Ethanol / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D004967:Estrogens; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D000431:Ethanol; D000079:Acetaldehyde
keywords: alcohol; benign breast disease; breast cancer; mammographic density; mechanism; risk factor