Lifetime alcohol consumption patterns and young-onset breast cancer by subtype among women in the Young Women’s Health History Study

The role of alcohol in young-onset breast cancer (YOBC) is unclear. A research team examined associations between lifetime alcohol consumption and YOBC in the Young Women’s Health History Study, a population-based case-control study of breast cancer among Non-Hispanic Black and White women < 50 years old.
1,812 breast cancer cases were diagnosed in the Metropolitan Detroit and Los Angeles County SEER registry areas, 2010-2015 and 1,381 controls were identified through area-based sampling and were frequency-matched to cases by age, site, and race. Alcohol consumption and covariates were collected from in-person interviews. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for associations between alcohol consumption and YOBC overall and by subtype (Luminal A, Luminal B, HER2, or triple negative) were calculated
The study found that lifetime alcohol consumption was not associated with YOBC overall or with subtypes. Similarly, alcohol consumption in adolescence, young and middle adulthood was not associated with YOBC. An inverse association with triple-negative YOBC, however, was observed for younger age at alcohol use initiation (< 18 years vs. no consumption), aOR (95% CI) = 0.62 (0.42, 0.93). No evidence of statistical interaction by race or household poverty was observed
These findings suggest that alcohol consumption has a different association with YOBC than postmenopausal breast cancer.Lifetime consumption, was not linked to increased risk and younger age at alcohol use initiation was associated with a decreased risk of triple-negative YOBC. Future studies on alcohol consumption in YOBC subtypes are warranted, the study authors say.
Source: Hirko KA, Lucas DR, Pathak DR, Hamilton AS, Post LM, Ihenacho U, Carnegie NB, Houang RT, Schwartz K, Velie EM. Lifetime alcohol consumption patterns and young-onset breast cancer by subtype among Non-Hispanic Black and White women in the Young Women’s Health History Study. Cancer Causes Control. 2024 Feb;35(2):377-391. doi.org/10.1007/s10552-023-01801-z.