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Pre-diagnostic alcohol consumption and postmenopausal breast cancer survival: a prospective patient cohort study

  • Epidemiology
  • Published:
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Abstract

Study results on the association of alcohol consumption with breast cancer survival are inconsistent, partly due to the use of different survival outcomes. We assessed the association of pre-diagnostic alcohol consumption with survival and recurrence in a prospective cohort study in Germany including 2,522 postmenopausal breast cancer patients aged 50–74 years. Patients were diagnosed between 2001 and 2005 and vital status, causes of death, and recurrences were verified through the end of 2009. Cox proportional hazards models were stratified by age at diagnosis and study center and adjusted for relevant prognostic factors. Alcohol consumption was non-linearly associated with increased breast cancer-specific mortality [e.g., ≥12 vs. <0.5 g/day: hazard ratio (HR) = 1.74, 95 % confidence interval (CI): 1.13, 2.67]. Results were independent of estrogen receptor status. A non-significantly decreased risk of mortality due to other causes was found (≥12 vs. <0.5 g/day: HR = 0.67, 95 % CI: 0.35, 1.29). Alcohol consumption was not associated with overall mortality (≥12 vs. <0.5 g/day: HR = 1.28, 95 % CI: 0.90, 1.81) and breast cancer recurrence (≥12 vs. <0.5 g/day: HR = 1.08, 95 % CI: 0.73, 1.58). In conclusion, our findings show that consumption of alcohol before diagnosis is non-linearly associated with increased breast cancer-specific mortality but may be associated with decreased risk of mortality due to other causes.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Deutsche Krebshilfe, Project numbers 108253/108419 and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Graduiertenkolleg 793. We thank Ursula Eilber, Christina Krieg, Renate Birr, and Dorothee Zoller for valuable technical assistance.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cancer Epidemiology, Unit of Genetic Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 581, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    Jenny Chang-Claude

  2. Division of Cancer Epidemiology, Unit of Genetic Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany

    Alina Vrieling & Katharina Buck

  3. Department of Cancer Epidemiology/Clinical Cancer Registry, University Cancer Center Hamburg (UCCH), Hamburg, Germany

    Judith Heinz, Nadia Obi & Dieter Flesch-Janys

  4. Division of Biostatistics, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany

    Axel Benner

  5. Department of Medical Biometrics and Epidemiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

    Dieter Flesch-Janys

Authors
  1. Alina Vrieling
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  2. Katharina Buck
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  3. Judith Heinz
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  7. Jenny Chang-Claude
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Correspondence to Jenny Chang-Claude.

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Vrieling, A., Buck, K., Heinz, J. et al. Pre-diagnostic alcohol consumption and postmenopausal breast cancer survival: a prospective patient cohort study. Breast Cancer Res Treat 136, 195–207 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-012-2230-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-012-2230-2

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