Vol. 4, Issue 1, Part A (2024)

One of the most significant recognized and controllable risk factors for cancer in humans is alcohol consumption. Breast cancer is the most prevalent malignancy in women globally and the main factor in cancer-related deaths. It has long been understood that severe drinking plays a part in breast cancer risk, and even moderate drinking is linked to the disease. Even light alcohol usage (less than 1 drink per day or 12.5 grams per day), which does not considerably raise the risk of cancer in other female organs, dramatically raises the risk of breast cancer by 4–15%. Because nearly half of women of childbearing age drink alcohol and 15% of drinkers at this age consume four or more drinks at once. Early menopause, early pregnancy, and late menstruation are all linked to a lower risk of breast cancer. Women with a gap of 10–14 years between menarche and their first pregnancy and those with a gap of 15 or more years had a risk of breast cancer that rose by 14% for every 10 g/day of alcohol they drank before being pregnant and by 25% overall. Alcohol drinking increases the chance of developing breast cancer via altering hormone levels and the biological processes that are connected to them, metabolizing ethanol to produce carcinogens. The purpose of the present review is to give an overview of the association between alcohol intake and the risk of developing breast cancer in women.