One drink per day gives a woman 15 more chances in 1000 to develop cancer. Above the already significant risk of 118/1000. Cancers may arise in many locations including breast, colon, and liver.
February 26, 2009 — Even low to moderate alcohol consumption significantly increases the risk for cancer, both overall and at specific sites, in women, according to results from the Million Women Study conducted in the United Kingdom.
The women in the study were middle-aged (median age, 55 years), and 75% said they drank alcohol, consuming — on average — 1 drink per day (100-g alcohol). Very few drank more than 3 or more drinks per day, and there was no difference between wine or other drinks, such as spirits, although most women drank wine.
Each drink significantly increased the risk for cancer, the researchers found.
For such women in developed countries, the researchers estimated a background incidence of 118 cancers diagnosed per 1000 women up to the age of 75 years.
Consuming 1 drink per day increased this to an extra 15 cancers per 1000 women, and 2 drinks a day increased it to an extra 30 cancers per 1000 women, they report. Most were breast cancers, but the risk for cancer was also increased for the liver and rectum, and for the mouth and throat in women who also smoked.
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