Alcohol consumption and survival after a breast cancer diagnosis: a literature-based meta-analysis and collaborative analysis of data for 29,239 cases.Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2014; 23(6):934-45CE
BACKGROUND
Evidence for an association of alcohol consumption with prognosis after a diagnosis of breast cancer has been inconsistent. We have reviewed and summarized the published evidence and evaluated the association using individual patient data from multiple case cohorts.
METHODS
A MEDLINE search to identify studies published up to January 2013 was performed. We combined published estimates of survival time for "moderate drinkers" versus nondrinkers. An analysis of individual participant data using Cox regression was carried out using data from 11 case cohorts.
RESULTS
We identified 11 published studies suitable for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Moderate postdiagnosis alcohol consumption was not associated with overall survival [HR, 0.95; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.85-1.05], but there was some evidence of better survival associated with prediagnosis consumption (HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.73-0.88). Individual data on alcohol consumption for 29,239 cases with 4,839 deaths were available from the 11 case cohorts, all of which had data on estrogen receptor (ER) status. For women with ER-positive disease, there was little evidence that pre- or postdiagnosis alcohol consumption is associated with breast cancer-specific mortality, with some evidence of a negative association with all-cause mortality. On the basis of a single study, moderate postdiagnosis alcohol intake was associated with a small reduction in breast cancer-specific mortality for women with ER-negative disease. There was no association with prediagnosis intake for women with ER-negative disease.
CONCLUSION
There was little evidence that pre- or post-diagnosis alcohol consumption is associated with breast cancer-specific mortality for women with ER-positive disease. There was weak evidence that moderate post-diagnosis alcohol intake is associated with a small reduction in breast cancer-specific mortality in ER-negative disease.
IMPACT
Considering the totality of the evidence, moderate postdiagnosis alcohol consumption is unlikely to have a major adverse effect on the survival of women with breast cancer.
Authors+Show Affiliations
MeSH
Pub Type(s)
Language
PubMed ID
Citation
Related Citations
- Postdiagnosis alcohol consumption and breast cancer prognosis in the after breast cancer pooling project.
- Alcohol consumption before and after breast cancer diagnosis: associations with survival from breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other causes.
- Alcohol Use and Breast Cancer Survival among Participants in the Women's Health Initiative.
- Alcohol and postmenopausal breast cancer risk defined by estrogen and progesterone receptor status: a prospective cohort study.
- Alcohol consumption and mortality after breast cancer diagnosis: The health and functioning in women study.
- Alcohol consumption and breast cancer risk among women from five ethnic groups with light to moderate intakes: the Multiethnic Cohort Study.
- Alcohol intake over the life course and breast cancer survival in Western New York exposures and breast cancer (WEB) study: quantity and intensity of intake.
- Low-to-moderate alcohol intake and breast cancer risk in Chinese women.
- Smoking and alcohol consumption in relation to risk of triple-negative breast cancer in a cohort of postmenopausal women.
- Pre-diagnostic alcohol consumption and breast cancer recurrence and mortality: results from a prospective cohort with a wide range of variation in alcohol intake.