Alcohol and breast cancer risk

1. Regularly drinking alcohol increases your risk of developing breast cancer
2. Just 1 alcoholic drink a day can raise your risk of breast cancer but the more you drink, the higher your risk
3. Regularly drinking alcohol can cause other types of cancer as well as illnesses like heart disease and liver disease
4. Many things affect your risk of breast cancer, including some you cannot do anything about such as getting older
5. Limiting the amount of alcohol you drink can reduce your risk of breast cancer and has other health benefits too

Around 8 out of every 100 breast cancers are thought to be linked to drinking alcohol.

The more alcohol you drink, the greater the risk. But even 1 alcoholic drink a day increases your risk of breast cancer.

No level of drinking is completely safe. But if you are going to drink it’s recommended you do not drink more than 14 units of alcohol a week, spread across 3 days or more.

We don’t fully understand why drinking alcohol increases breast cancer risk.

It may be because:

• Alcohol gets broken down by the body into a chemical that can damage our cells
• Drinking alcohol can change the levels of hormones in the body, including oestrogen which is known to help some breast cancers to grow

The type of alcoholic drink makes no difference to your risk. It’s the alcohol itself and the overall amount you drink that matters.

There are many ways you can cut back on alcohol and help reduce your risk of breast cancer and other illnesses.

1. Have some drink-free days every week: the NHS Drink Free Days app can help
2. Try an alcohol-free wine or beer or a mocktail in place of your usual drink
3. Switch up your social plans and do something that doesn’t involve alcohol, like grabbing a coffee, seeing a film or going for a walk
4. If you do go out for a drink, try not to drink in rounds with other people as it can be easy to drink more than you mean to
5. Set a weekly alcohol limit – you’re more likely to stick to it if you make a plan

Find out more:

• Alcohol Change: Unit calculator
• Drinkaware: Help to reduce drinking
• NHS Better Health: Drink less

It’s less clear if drinking alcohol affects your outlook if you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer.

NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) recommends you do not drink more than 5 units of alcohol a week if you’ve had breast cancer.

You can read more about how diet and lifestyle may affect the risk of breast cancer coming back.