Pre-diagnosis alcohol consumption and mortality risk among black women and white women with invasive breast cancer

BMC Cancer. 2019 Aug 13;19(1):800. doi: 10.1186/s12885-019-5991-8.

Abstract

Background: Alcohol consumption is associated with increased risk of breast cancer; however, its association with subsequent risk of breast cancer death is unclear.

Methods: We followed 4523 women with complete information on relevant risk factors for mortality; these women were 35 to 64 years of age when diagnosed with incident invasive breast cancer between 1994 and 1998. During follow up (median, 8.6 years), 1055 women died; 824 died from breast cancer. The information on alcohol consumption before diagnosis was collected shortly after breast cancer diagnosis (average: 5.1 months) during an in-person interview which used a structured questionnaire. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models provided hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for breast cancer-specific mortality, mortality due to causes other than breast cancer, and all-cause mortality associated with alcohol consumption from age 15 years until breast cancer diagnosis and during recent periods of time prior to breast cancer diagnosis.

Results: Average weekly alcohol consumption from age 15 years until breast cancer diagnosis was inversely associated with breast cancer-specific mortality (Ptrend = 0.01). Compared to non-drinkers, women in the highest average weekly alcohol consumption category (≥7 drinks/week) had 25% lower risk of breast cancer-specific mortality (HR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.56-1.00). Breast cancer mortality risk was also reduced among women in the highest average weekly alcohol consumption category in two recent time periods (5-year period ending 2-years prior to breast cancer diagnosis, HR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.57-0.95; 2-year period immediately prior to breast cancer diagnosis: HR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.56-0.95). Furthermore, analyses of average weekly alcohol consumption by beverage type from age 15 years until breast cancer diagnosis suggested that wine consumption was inversely associated with breast cancer-specific mortality risk (wine Ptrend = 0.06, beer Ptrend = 0.24, liquor Ptrend = 0.74). No association with any of these alcohol consumption variables was observed for mortality risk due to causes other than breast cancer.

Conclusions: Overall, we found no evidence that alcohol consumption before breast cancer diagnosis increases subsequent risk of death from breast cancer.

Keywords: Alcohol; Beer; Black women; Breast cancer; Liquor; Mortality; White women; Wine.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Alcohol Drinking* / adverse effects
  • Black People*
  • Breast Neoplasms / epidemiology*
  • Breast Neoplasms / etiology*
  • Breast Neoplasms / mortality
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Mortality
  • Neoplasm Invasiveness
  • Neoplasm Staging
  • Population Surveillance
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • White People*