Alcohol intake and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer

A study investigated the association between alcohol intake over the lifetime and the risk of overall, borderline, and invasive ovarian cancer.
In a population-based case-control study of 495 cases and 902 controls, conducted in Montreal, Canada, average alcohol intake over the lifetime and during specific age periods were computed from a detailed assessment of the intake of beer, red wine, white wine and spirits. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated for the association between alcohol intake and ovarian cancer risk.
The study found that for each one drink/week increment in average alcohol intake over the lifetime, the adjusted OR (95% CI) was 1.06 (1.01-1.10) for ovarian cancer overall, 1.13 (1.06-1.20) for borderline ovarian cancers and 1.02 (0.97-1.08) for invasive ovarian cancers. This pattern of association was similarly observed for alcohol intake in early (15- < 25 years), mid (25- < 40 years) and late adulthood (≥ 40 years), as well as for the intake of specific alcohol beverages over the lifetime.
The results support the hypothesis that a higher alcohol intake modestly increases the risk of overall ovarian cancer, and more specifically, borderline tumours.
Source: L’Espérance K, Grundy A, Abrahamowicz M, Arseneau J, Gilbert L, Gotlieb WH, Provencher D, Koushik A. Alcohol intake and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. Cancer Causes Control. 2023 Mar 18.