Multivariate analyses confirmed that medical professionals significantly influenced patients’ awareness of the link between alcohol and breast cancer. This underscores the need for comprehensive training programs to enhance survivors’ knowledge about alcohol’s role in breast cancer. Several studies highlight oncologists’ concerns about patients’ limited awareness of this link 59,60,61.
The study was approved by the Georgia State University Institutional Review Board (H21673). The ABLE survey dataset analyzed in this study is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. The Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) that collected the data discussed in this paper was supported via a National Cancer Institute contract to Westat. More research is needed to understand some of the disparities seen in this study, such as with age, Dr. LoConte said.
A higher awareness of alcohol-breast cancer link was observed among survivors who maintained their drinking habits compared to those who increased or decreased their intake. However, these results were only significant in bivariate analyses but not in multivariate analyses. Future research should examine changes in drinking patterns in larger samples of survivors to replicate these findings and better understand the contextual issues that influence the decisions regarding alcohol use post-cancer diagnosis. While guidelines for cancer survivors mainly revolve around general cancer prevention measures, studies have revealed a link between survivors’ beliefs and their proactive health changes 57, 58. There is a compelling correlation between survivors who attribute breast cancer to alcohol consumption and their readiness to alter habits, indicating awareness of alcohols link to cancer lagging nci a direct connection between awareness and behavioral changes 57.
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Numerous changes need to be made to raise public awareness of the fact that drinking alcohol raises the risk of several types of cancer. Alcohol has been shown to increase the risk of seven types of cancer, including liver, colorectal, and breast cancer (4–7). Oral and esophageal cancers have the strongest association with alcohol use, and some associations vary by sex (6). While there is evidence of a dose response relationship between alcohol intake and cancer risk (6), for some cancers, the risk is increased even with low (up to one drink per day) levels of consumption (8). Knowledge of this association is not new, as alcohol has been listed as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer since 1988 (9).
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Awareness was higher among those with more education and higher health self-efficacy. People with a personal history of cancer and those ≥ 60 years of age had a higher prevalence of reporting “Don’t know”. Educating the public about the cancer risk from drinking alcohol, regardless of the beverage type, is especially urgent given the increase in drinking during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Klein said.
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- Future research should also consider the association between awareness and receptivity to alcohol policy in the US.
- Alcohol is a known modifiable risk factor for breast cancer; however, limited research exists on survivors’ awareness and perceptions of the alcohol- breast cancer link.
- Unfortunately, little research has examined survivors’ awareness, which is concerning since this population is uniquely positioned to benefit from risk-reduction education.
From a public health perspective, it is very concerning that, despite robust evidence linking alcohol consumption to an increased risk of breast cancer, public awareness of this association remains limited. A 2024 WHO report found that only 21% of European women were aware of the alcohol–breast cancer connection 15. Similarly, a U.S. population-based survey showed only 24.4% of women recognized the risk, while over 40% were unsure. This knowledge gap is significant, especially given estimates that 4–10% of breast cancer cases are attributable to alcohol 75. Unfortunately, little research has examined survivors’ awareness, which is concerning since this population is uniquely positioned to benefit from risk-reduction education. However, we recommend that public health interventions aimed at enhancing awareness among cancer survivors to include integrating alcohol risk education into survivorship care plans and improving provider–patient communication 76.
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In this study, we chose to distinguish between respondents who reported “don’t know” and “no”. Although past research has combined both responses, recent evidence and our results suggests that there is a distinction between people reporting “no” versus “don’t know” when responding to awareness items (37). Future research should continue to explore differences between people who do not believe alcohol is a risk factor for cancer and those who are unclear as different educational strategies may be needed to increase awareness in both groups. SAS 9.3 was used for all analyses, and analyses were weighted using jack-knife replicate weights to provide US representative estimates with appropriate standard errors (36).
- While public campaigns often overlook alcohol in cancer prevention and care messaging, our findings underscore the critical need to integrate this information into survivorship care.
- Researchers and health professionals can do more to help break down these misconceptions, Dr. LoConte added.
- Targeted brief advice has been shown to significantly increase the likelihood of behavior change 63.
- It has been suggested that certain substances in red wine, such as resveratrol, have anticancer properties.
- The study confirmed that most American adults aren’t aware of the link between alcohol consumption and cancer.
- Several studies highlight oncologists’ concerns about patients’ limited awareness of this link 59,60,61.
Public health campaigns about the cancer risk posed by alcohol in England and Australia have been effective at raising awareness with their target audiences. US adults beliefs about whether wine, beer, and liquor consumption is linked with cancer. The federal government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans defines moderate alcohol drinking as up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men. Drinking alcohol can increase your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, larynx (voice box), liver, and breast. The risk of cancer is much higher for those who drink alcohol and also use tobacco.
Fewer than one in three breast cancer survivors are aware of the alcohol-breast cancer link, but awareness improves with medical advice. Targeted educational initiatives directed at both health care providers and older survivors are warranted. The rising incidence of breast cancer in the U.S. necessitates exploration of modifiable risk factors and prevention strategies. Alcohol is a known modifiable risk factor for breast cancer; however, limited research exists on survivors’ awareness and perceptions of the alcohol- breast cancer link.
This study assessed breast cancer survivors’ awareness of alcohol as a modifiable risk factor for breast cancer and examined receipt of information about this link from a medical professional and post-diagnosis changes in drinking as correlates of awareness. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first U.S.-based study to evaluate breast cancer survivors’ awareness of this link, making it a novel contribution to the literature. While public campaigns often overlook alcohol in cancer prevention and care messaging, our findings underscore the critical need to integrate this information into survivorship care. We found low awareness (30%) of the alcohol-breast cancer link among breast cancer survivors.
Data availability
It also underscores the importance of healthcare professionals in advising women in general and breast cancer survivors in particular about the risks of alcohol use. In a nationally representative survey, 38% of the US population believed that drinking too much alcohol can increase risk of cancer. This level of awareness is consistent with recent assessments in other nationally representative surveys of the US, which have ranged from 30% to 46% (18, 19, 39). In comparison, recent estimates of awareness of tobacco and sun exposure as risk factors for cancer in the US were 78% and 66%, respectively (39).
These concerns often focus on medication interactions during treatment and the potential impact of alcohol on cancer recurrence post-treatment 59. Evidence suggests survivors may not consistently receive information about alcohol-related risk from their providers. A National Cancer Institute (NCI) blog post highlighted that many survivors continue drinking, including at harmful levels, with few reporting they had been counseled on alcohol’s impact on recurrence or secondary cancers 62. Similarly, a study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO) reported that only 7% of breast cancer patients recalled receiving alcohol advice at diagnosis, and those who did were more likely to reduce intake 63. The dependent measure, awareness that alcohol consumption increases breast cancer risk, was assessed by asking participants, “Do you think your risk of developing the following types of cancer is increased by drinking alcohol?