A new report suggests that teenage girls and young adult women who consume alcohol increase their risks of developing breast changes which could lead to cancer.
The team from the Siteman Cancer Center of Washington University School of Medicine followed more than 29,000 female subjects who regularly drank. Data gathered showed that for every ten grams of alcohol intake each day, the risks of having proliferative benign cancer disease increased by up to 15%; the illness is characterized by noncancerous cells and lesions.
Dr. Graham Colditz, a professor of surgery from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis said that females who start drinking at very early ages increase their chances of acquiring breast diseases. “It’s clear that this study shows that late adolescent alcohol [drinking] drives up the risk of these preliminary benign changes in the breast.”
Dr. Colditz adds that the risks involved are significant enough, which is why women should start thinking about their drinking habits.
According to the American Cancer Society, the development of breast cancer has long been proven to be affected by an individual’s alcohol consumption. In fact, women who drink at least two to five servings of alcoholic drinks in a day end up increasing risks of breast cancer by up to 1.5%.
The study also proves that adolescent and young adulthood behaviors can affect one’s health later on in life. Dr. Jonathan Espenschied from the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in California supports such findings. This is why Dr. Espenchied regularly informs his teen and young adult patients about the dangers of early alcohol abuse.
“I would want them to be aware of alcohol consumption and what it can do, not just in terms of breast cancer,” he said. “They are young adults and they are going to make their own decision.”