Prospective evaluation of alcohol consumption and the risk of breast cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers

Given the adverse effect of alcohol in the development of breast cancer among women in the general population, we evaluated whether a similar association exists among women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. Information regarding baseline daily alcohol consumption was abstracted from a research questionnaire for 3067 BRCA mutation carriers enrolled in a prospective cohort study. Women were followed biennially until the date of the last follow-up questionnaire, date of breast cancer diagnosis, date of prophylactic bilateral mastectomy, or date of death. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate relative risks (RRs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) for invasive breast cancer associated with alcohol consumed at or prior to completion of the baseline questionnaire. After a mean of 5.4 years of follow-up, we observed 259 incident cases of primary invasive breast cancer. Compared with non-users, the adjusted RRs were 1.06 (95 % CI 0.78–1.44) for ever use and 1.08 (0.79–1.47) for current alcohol use. For women in the highest versus lowest quintile of cumulative alcohol consumption, the RR was 0.94 (95 % CI 0.63–1.40; P trend = 0.65). Our findings suggest that alcohol consumption is not a risk factor for breast cancer among women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation.