Multiple epidemiologic studies have identified a relationship between moderate alcohol consumption and breast cancer risk in women. However, important questions remain about the mechanistic and temporal basis of this relationship, which impact the interpretation of the epidemiologic results, and their implications for disease prevention and women’s health. With refined epidemiological study designs, as well as mechanism-based research, it should be possible to provide better answers to these questions, so that women, in consultation with their health care providers, can make informed decisions about the health consequences of alcohol consumption at different stages of their lives. Such information should also allow the development of rational clinical interventions to reduce ethanol-related breast cancer mortality.
