Women have been warned to limit their alcohol consumption to just six drinks a year – because more it has been found that it considerably increases cancer risk.
New estimates show that drinking more than this annually can increase the lives of a woman the risk of developing the disease by a maximum of 27 percent.
For comparison: sticking to six or fewer drinks per year increases the risk by only 0.3 percent – a negligible figure, according to experts.
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in the UK, with around 55,000 women diagnosed every year. About 11,500 die from the disease annually.
Although it has long been established that even a low levels of alcohol intake pose any danger, researchers from the World Health Organization have now determined the risk level that is associated with every glass of wine used.
Only one drink per week is associated with an increase of three percent, while more than six glasses per year push that to two percent.
A small glass of wine daily – around 10 units per week – increases the risk by 15 percent.
On the higher side of the scale, a large glass of wine per day, or about two bottles per week – or 20 units – increases the risk by 27 percent, which means that 14 with 100 women who drink at that level can expect the disease.
Dr. Liz O’Riordan, a breast cancer specialist who has had the disease three times, wonders if drinking in her 20S (photo) has increased the chance that she would develop cancer
The NHS recommends that adults do not drink more than 14 units every week – that is 14 single shots of spirit, six pints of beer or one and a half bottle of wine
Binge drinking is just as risky. For women this is classified as six units in one meeting – about two large glasses of wine.
Regular weekend bingers consuming eight medium glasses for two days have a 24 percent greater risk of breast cancer.
Even those who stick to four glasses per weekend are 12 percent more likely to develop the disease.
Dr. Liz O’Riordan, a breast cancer specialist who had the disease three times, said: “I knew the risks and I ignored them. There is no safe level of alcohol consumption and people should know that.
‘The two biggest risk factors of getting breast cancer are your age and being a woman, neither of us can do something – but you can determine how much you drink.
‘So if you want to reduce your risk of breast cancer, you must reduce.
“The impact of alcohol increases as you get older, and it is never too late to change habits and reduce your risk.”
According to the last NHS figures, 81 percent of adults said they had consumed alcohol in the past year – with men who did more than women this (84 percent compared to 78 percent).
Breast cancer is the most common cancer of the UK, with nearly 56,000 cases diagnosed per year
Symptoms of breast cancer to pay attention are nodules and swellings, hole of the skin, changes in color, discharge and a rash or crust around the nipple
The NHS currently recommends a limit of 14 units per week – equal to six medium -sized glasses of wine or six beer pints.
Men are more likely to drink more than this (32 percent) than women (15 percent).
However, 55 percent of men and 42 percent of women drank alcohol at least once a week, according to the Health Survey for England data.
Experts say that the current ‘safe drinking’ guidance is outdated and does not recognize the well -known link between alcohol and seven types of cancer.
“The national guidelines must be reduced, as is done in other countries, because there are no safe levels of alcohol,” says Dr. O’Riordan.
‘The link to cancer must be recognized. If you want to have one glass of something that you enjoy every so much time, or six glasses a year, then that would be fine, but don’t make it a habit. ‘
Checking your breasts must be part of your monthly routine, so that you notice unusual changes. Rub and feel the chest from top to bottom and feel in semi-circles and in a circular movement around your breast tissue to check for any abnormalities
According to Professor Jayant Vaidya, an oncologist at the University College London (UCL) who works as part of her tobacco and alcohol research group, the relationship between alcohol and breast cancer is ‘dose-dependent’.
He says: ‘If you have a glass of wine, you pay the price for the joy you experience, with an increased risk of breast cancer.
‘It is dose dependent, so for every drink you have, you increase your risk. You must balance the risk and only reserve alcohol for special occasions. ‘
However, some experts claim that advising women to fully cut alcohol or to greatly limit their intake can be too drastic and even counterproductive.
“There must be a common sense approach,” says Professor Hendrik Tobias Arkenau, an oncologist at UCL.
‘Of course there is a risk when you use alcohol, but one drink per week will not increase your risk considerably.
“If we advise everyone to go Teetotaal, it does not acknowledge the cultural role that alcohol has and will undoubtedly influence the quality of life of people.”
Alcohol increases the risk of breast cancer in two important ways. First, it is split into acetaldehyde in the body, a carcinogen that can damage DNA, including in breast tissue.
It also increases levels of estrogen, a hormone that is known to feed the development and growth of a lot of breast cancer.
Dr. O’Riordan also warns that alcohol can increase breast density, a well -known risk factor for cancer.
Close breasts also make tumors more difficult to recognize with current screening methods.
Cancer Research UK estimates that eight percent of breast cancer cases that are diagnosed in the UK annually are directly related to alcohol consumption.
Nevertheless, one in four adults in England drinks recommended limit above the NHS.
The Institute of Alcohol Studies estimates that the average British woman consumes about nine units per week, which increases most in the reach of an increased risk of nine to 15 percent.
The survival rates for breast cancer have doubled over the past 50 years, with three -quarters of women who now survive at least ten years after diagnosis, thanks to better screening and an increased awareness.
Women are encouraged to regularly check their breasts for signs of cancer, including nodules or swellings; Changes in size, shape or color; nipple outlet; a result or crust around the nipple; Skin dimpel or persistent pain.
Everyone is encouraged to contact their doctor, and those who are concerned about their alcohol consumption can also seek support through their doctor.
Did the drink in my 20S cause my breast cancer?
Former breast cancer surgeon Dr. Liz O’Riordan says: ‘The national guidelines must be reduced, as is done in other countries, because there are no safe levels of alcohol’
Dr. Liz O’Riordan has had breast cancer three times and suspects that it was possible by heavy drinks when she was younger.
“I knew the risks, but I ignored them. I drank like a fish at the medical school – we were told that alcohol increased the risk of cancer, but it was not possible, “says Dr. O’Riordan. “I have often wondered if my own heavy drink as a junior doctor may have played a role in my diagnosis.”
However, the former breast surgeon, who wrote The Cancer Roadmap, published in January, warns that you should not feel guilty about drinking habits from the past.
She adds: ‘It is never too late to change your habits, and the risk bonds as you get older, so you have to be aware of this.
“I am not teetotaal, but I hardly drink and I am in the best form of my life, but it has been a slog to come here.”
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