While many studies suggest that responsible wine intake (especially reds) may provide health benefits, possibly as a result of antioxidants such as resveratrol, there is a growing body of scientific evidence that cautions about the possible risk between alcohol consumption and breast cancer. The most recent study, conducted by Dr. Polly Newcomb, Head of the Cancer Prevention Program in the Public Health Sciences Division at the Fred Hutchinson Center in Seattle, Washington and published in the March edition of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention concludes that women who consumed 14 or more drinks per week, regardless of type of wine or spirits, were more likely to have breast cancer as compared with women who abstained. Interestingly enough, these results come on the heals of a much larger study from the University of Oxford and published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that any alcohol intake may increase the risk of other types of cancer as well.

The current study was conducted amongst 6,327 women who had breast cancer and 7,558 aged match controls who did not. The interviewers inquired about the frequency of alcohol intake and asked questions specifically related to breast cancer such as how old they were when/if they first became pregnant, if there was a family history of breast cancer, and whether they had used hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

The researchers found that women who consumed more than 14 drinks per week were 24% more likely to develop breast cancer as compared to those who did drink alcohol at all. The results were the same whether red or white wine was consumed.

These results prompted the researchers to caution that if a woman drinks, she should do so only in moderation and no more than one drink per day.

Tags: cancer, Resveratrol