Interactions between intakes of alcohol and postmenopausal hormones on risk of breast cancer

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Abstract
Alcohol and postmenopausal hormone use are well‐established modifiable risk factors for breast cancer. Alcohol may decrease the metabolic clearance of estradiol, whereby the risk of breast cancer associated with hormone use may depend on blood alcohol levels. The objective is to determine whether alcohol interacts with hormone use on risk of breast cancer. The 5,035 postmenopausal women who participated in the Copenhagen City Heart Study were asked about their alcohol intake and hormone use at baseline in 1981–1983 and were followed until 2002 in the Danish cancer registry, with and took hormones had a risk of 4.74 (95% CI: 2.61–8.59) for breast cancer compared to abstainers who did not use hormones. Alcohol was not associated with breast cancer among women who did not use hormones (HR = 0.98 per drink/day, 95% CI: 0.82–1.78). In conclusion, the interaction between alcohol and hormone use should, if confirmed in other studies, have an impact both on the prescription of hormones and on sensible drinking limits for postmenopausal women.