Alcohol, Postmenopausal Hormones, and Breast Cancer

Letters7 October 2003Alcohol, Postmenopausal Hormones, and Breast CancerSilvano Gallus, ScD, Silvia Franceschi, MD, and Carlo La Vecchia, MDSilvano Gallus, ScDFrom Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri; 20157 Milan, Italy; International Agency for Research on Cancer; 69372 Lyon Cedex, France; and Istituto di Statistica Medica e Biometria, Universit degli Studi di Milano; 20133 Milan, Italy.Search for more papers by this author, Silvia Franceschi, MDFrom Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri; 20157 Milan, Italy; International Agency for Research on Cancer; 69372 Lyon Cedex, France; and Istituto di Statistica Medica e Biometria, Universit degli Studi di Milano; 20133 Milan, Italy.Search for more papers by this author, and Carlo La Vecchia, MDFrom Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri; 20157 Milan, Italy; International Agency for Research on Cancer; 69372 Lyon Cedex, France; and Istituto di Statistica Medica e Biometria, Universit degli Studi di Milano; 20133 Milan, Italy.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-139-7-200310070-00022 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:In the Nurses' Health Study cohort, Chen and colleagues (1) found an approximately 2-fold excess risk for breast cancer in women who currently used postmenopausal hormones and drank alcohol. However, the researchers were unable to consider high alcohol consumption. To address this issue, we analyzed data from 2 Italian case–control studies. The first was conducted between 1983 and 1991 in greater Milan (2), and the second was conducted between 1991 and 1994 in 6 centers in various regions of Italy (3). The studies involved 3573 postmenopausal women (median age, 61 years [range, 31 to 74 years]) with ...References1. Chen WY, Colditz GA, Rosner B, Hankinson SE, Hunter DJ, Manson JE, . Use of postmenopausal hormones, alcohol, and risk for invasive breast cancer. Ann Intern Med. 2002;137:798-804. [PMID: 12435216] LinkGoogle Scholar2. La Vecchia C, Negri E, Parazzini F, Boyle P, Fasoli M, Gentile A, . Alcohol and breast cancer: update from an Italian case–control study. Eur J Cancer Clin Oncol. 1989;25:1711-7. [PMID: 2632254] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Ferraroni M, Decarli A, Franceschi S, La Vecchia C. Alcohol consumption and risk of breast cancer: a multicentre Italian case–control study. Eur J Cancer. 1998;34:1403-9. [PMID: 9849424] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. La Vecchia C, Pagano R, Negri E, Decarli A. Determinants of alcohol consumption in Italy [Letter]. Int J Epidemiol. 1987;16:295-6. [PMID: 3610459] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Ferraroni M, Decarli A, Franceschi S, La Vecchia C, Enard L, Negri E, . Validity and reproducibility of alcohol consumption in Italy. Int J Epidemiol. 1996;25:775-82. [PMID: 8921456] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Silvano Gallus, ScD; Silvia Franceschi, MD; Carlo La Vecchia, MDAffiliations: From Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri; 20157 Milan, Italy; International Agency for Research on Cancer; 69372 Lyon Cedex, France; and Istituto di Statistica Medica e Biometria, Universit degli Studi di Milano; 20133 Milan, Italy.Grant Support: By the Italian Association for Cancer Research, Milan, Italy. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoUse of Postmenopausal Hormones, Alcohol, and Risk for Invasive Breast Cancer Wendy Y. Chen , Graham A. Colditz , Bernard Rosner , Susan E. Hankinson , David J. Hunter , JoAnn E. Manson , Meir J. Stampfer , Walter C. Willett , and Frank E. Speizer Metrics Cited byHormone therapy and breast cancer: what factors modify the association? 7 October 2003Volume 139, Issue 7Page: 601-602KeywordsAlcohol consumptionAlcoholsBreast cancerCohort studiesEthanolHabitsHormonesMenopauseOdds ratioWine ePublished: 7 October 2003 Issue Published: 7 October 2003 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2003 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...