Â鶹ӳ»­

Alcohol increases breast cancer risk

In early 2025, a Surgeon General Advisory highlighted what studies have shown for years: alcohol increases cancer risk.

Drinking alcohol increases your risk for seven types of cancer:

• Breast cancer for females
• Colorectal cancer
• Esophageal cancer
• Laryngeal (voice box) cancer
• Liver cancer
• Oral cancer
• Throat cancer

According to the report, drinking alcohol increases breast cancer risk more than any other cancer in women in the United States. For example, in 2019, there were about 270,000 breast cancer cases in women. Of those, an estimated 44,180 cases ¡ª or 16.4% ¡ª were linked to alcohol use.

5 reasons alcohol increases cancer risk

Here¡¯s why alcohol consumption may increase your risk of the seven cancers listed above.

• Alcohol contains ethanol. Your body breaks ethanol down into acetaldehyde, a cancer-causing substance, which causes DNA damage.
• Alcohol increases inflammation, which can promote cancer development.
• Alcohol alters hormone levels. It can increase levels of estrogen and other hormones associated with breast cancer. This increases the risk of the most common breast cancer: hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.
• Alcohol can dissolve other cancer-causing substances, such as those in cigarettes. This makes it easier for the body to absorb these carcinogens.
• Alcohol is considered empty calories ¡ª that is, a food or drink that provides calories without helpful nutrients. Eating more calories than your body uses can lead to unwanted weight gain, and obesity is a breast cancer risk factor.

RELATED: 11 things to know about alcohol and cancer

The more you drink, the higher your cancer risk

If you drink alcohol, aim to have fewer drinks. That¡¯s because alcohol¡¯s cancer risk is cumulative. That is, each drink further increases a woman¡¯s risk of developing breast cancer.

What counts as a drink varies depending on the type of alcohol. Here's what a serving looks like for different alcoholic beverages.

• Beer: 12 ounces
• Wine: 5 ounces
• Liquor: 1.5 ounces

Even having one alcoholic drink per day can increase your cancer risk. Per the Surgeon General Advisory, women who drink less than one alcoholic beverage per week have about an 11.3% risk of breast cancer in their lifetime. Raise that to one drink a day, and that risk rises to 13.1%. Having two drinks a day increases that risk to 15.3%. To put that another way, the report writes, ¡°About 4 more women out of 100 would develop breast cancer due to consumption of two drinks a day.¡±

Drinking any type of alcohol increases breast cancer risk

It can be tempting to think that certain drinks are better for you than others. But when it comes to cancer risk, there's no healthy type of alcohol. All types of alcohol ¡ª whether it be wine, spirits or beer ¡ª increase a woman¡¯s risk of developing breast cancer.

That¡¯s because the ethanol in all types of alcohol breaks down to a cancer-causing substance called acetaldehyde. So, while alcoholic drinks may taste different from one another, one way they cause cancer is the same.

Avoid alcohol during breast cancer treatment

It¡¯s not only important to avoid alcohol to reduce your cancer risk. You should also avoid alcohol if you¡¯re in active cancer treatment. That¡¯s because drinking alcohol could increase your risk for a second primary cancer or transform your existing tumor.

Alcohol may also interfere with treatment benefits or even worsen their side effects. Our experts recommend avoiding alcohol during chemotherapy to reduce both strain on your liver and your risk of dehydration.

RELATED: 10 things to avoid while receiving chemotherapy

What men should know about alcohol and breast cancer risk

Breast cancer in men is rare. It is usually caused by genetics, not diet or alcohol.

But that doesn¡¯t mean men should ignore the link between alcohol and cancer. While alcohol isn¡¯t a risk factor for male breast cancer, it still increases the risk of six other cancers for men: colorectal, esophageal, laryngeal, liver, oral and throat cancers.

When it comes to alcohol and cancer prevention, the same guidance applies to men and women: it¡¯s best not to drink alcohol. Those who drink should do so less often and have fewer drinks.

How to proceed

Now that we¡¯ve talked about alcohol¡¯s link to cancer, you might be wondering what, exactly, to do with this information.

The good news is that simply learning more about alcohol and cancer risk is a great first step in risk reduction. In fact, a MD Anderson study found that 39% of American adults were unaware of the link, and just over 30% didn¡¯t think cancer prevention was possible.

If you don¡¯t drink, don¡¯t start. This is especially true the younger you are. It's thought that drinking alcohol at a younger age may increase the risk of breast and other cancers later in life.

If you stop drinking alcohol, research shows your risk for some alcohol-related cancers decreases. Researchers are still working to understand how your breast cancer risk changes if you stop drinking or drink less. But when it comes to alcohol and overall cancer prevention, remember that not drinking is the best choice.

 or call 1-877-632-6789.