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Peer-reviewedCC BYBreast cancer research and treatment

Change in alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality among postmenopausal women diagnosed with breast cancer.

  • Samantha Rees1,2
  • Clara Bodelon3
  • Saptarshi Chakraborty4
  • Amy E Millen5
  • Ying Wang3
  • Kierstin Faw3
  • Lauren R Teras3
  • Marissa M Shams-White3
  • Alpa V Patel3
  • Jo L Freudenheim5
5 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, 270 Farber Hall, 360 Hayes Road, Buffalo, NY, 14214, USA. [email protected].
  2. 2Department of Population Health Sciences, British Columbia Cancer Research Institute, BC, Vancouver, Canada. [email protected].
  3. 3Department of Population Science, American Cancer Society, Atlanta, GA, USA.
  4. 4Department of Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics, School of Mathematical and Computer Science, Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.
  5. 5Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, 270 Farber Hall, 360 Hayes Road, Buffalo, NY, 14214, USA.
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Abstract

Purpose

Evidence is inconsistent regarding an association between alcohol consumption and survival following a breast cancer diagnosis; therefore, we examined how change in alcohol consumption affects all-cause mortality (ACM) in a population of breast cancer survivors.Methods

We prospectively assessed pre-diagnosis, pre- to post-diagnosis, and post-diagnosis change in alcohol consumption among 1,558 postmenopausal women (mean age-at-diagnosis: 71 years) diagnosed with non-metastatic invasive breast cancer from the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study-II Nutrition Cohort (baseline: 1992-1993). Five categories of alcohol intake were determined at each assessment; change in alcohol consumption was categorized as stable, quit, reduced, and increased. Change occurred at a median of two years before (pre-diagnosis) and two years after (post-diagnosis) diagnosis. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the associations between change groups and ACM.Results

Over a median follow-up of 12.6 years, 750 women died (130 breast cancer deaths). Compared to stable consumption, the association between cessation and ACM varied by change interval: pre-diagnosis (HR:0.91, CI:0.69-1.21), pre- to post-diagnosis: (HR:1.39, CI:1.12-1.73), post-diagnosis: (HR:0.98, CI:0.70-1.35). Alcohol reduction was not associated with ACM. Among women consuming ≥ 1 drink/day pre-diagnosis, increasing consumption elevated ACM risk (HR:1.83, 95%CI:1.02-3.31).Conclusion

Alcohol reduction or cessation was not associated with a decrease in ACM among older breast cancer survivors. Among those drinking ≥ 1 drink/day, an increase in consumption pre-diagnosis was associated with higher mortality. Findings may be limited by uncontrolled confounding, a low prevalence of heavy drinking, or an insufficient duration of sustained change.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{rees2026change,
  title = {{Change in alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality among postmenopausal women diagnosed with breast cancer.}},
  author = {Samantha Rees and Clara Bodelon and Saptarshi Chakraborty and Amy E Millen and Ying Wang and Kierstin Faw and Lauren R Teras and Marissa M Shams-White and Alpa V Patel and Jo L Freudenheim},
  journal = {Breast cancer research and treatment},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1007/s10549-026-08113-1},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42909681},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Change in alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality among postmenopausal women diagnosed with breast cancer.
AU  - Samantha Rees
AU  - Clara Bodelon
AU  - Saptarshi Chakraborty
AU  - Amy E Millen
AU  - Ying Wang
AU  - Kierstin Faw
AU  - Lauren R Teras
AU  - Marissa M Shams-White
AU  - Alpa V Patel
AU  - Jo L Freudenheim
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/23
JO  - Breast cancer research and treatment
DO  - 10.1007/s10549-026-08113-1
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42909681
AB  - Purpose  Evidence is inconsistent regarding an association between alcohol consumption and survival following a breast cancer diagnosis; therefore, we examined how change in alcohol consumption affects all-cause mortality (ACM) in a population of breast cancer survivors.Methods  We prospectively assessed pre-diagnosis, pre- to post-diagnosis, and post-diagnosis change in alcohol consumption among 1,558 postmenopausal women (mean age-at-diagnosis: 71 years) diagnosed with non-metastatic invasive breast cancer from the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study-II Nutrition Cohort (baseline: 1992-1993). Five categories of alcohol intake were determined at each assessment; change in alcohol consumption was categorized as stable, quit, reduced, and increased. Change occurred at a median of two years before (pre-diagnosis) and two years after (post-diagnosis) diagnosis. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the associations between change groups and ACM.Results  Over a median follow-up of 12.6 years, 750 women died (130 breast cancer deaths). Compared to stable consumption, the association between cessation and ACM varied by change interval: pre-diagnosis (HR:0.91, CI:0.69-1.21), pre- to post-diagnosis: (HR:1.39, CI:1.12-1.73), post-diagnosis: (HR:0.98, CI:0.70-1.35). Alcohol reduction was not associated with ACM. Among women consuming ≥ 1 drink/day pre-diagnosis, increasing consumption elevated ACM risk (HR:1.83, 95%CI:1.02-3.31).Conclusion  Alcohol reduction or cessation was not associated with a decrease in ACM among older breast cancer survivors. Among those drinking ≥ 1 drink/day, an increase in consumption pre-diagnosis was associated with higher mortality. Findings may be limited by uncontrolled confounding, a low prevalence of heavy drinking, or an insufficient duration of sustained change.
SN  - 0167-6806
SN  - 1573-7217
ER  -