If the cumulative carcinogen model is correct, breast cancers that women were diagnosed with were caused by alcohol drinking earlier in life. Therefore, the cessation of drinking by postmenopausal women would have no effect on their breast cancer risk. Rather, the greatest overall benefit to women’s health would come from educating younger women about the long-term risks of breast cancer from alcohol drinking. In view of the work of (Chen et al., 2011) indicating that binge drinking is associated with alcohol-related breast cancer risk, that information should be disseminated as well. In this context, recent data indicating that binge drinking by women appears to be increasing (Keyes et al., 2011) is particular cause for concern.
