SynthesisBreast (Edinburgh, Scotland)2026
Association between alcohol consumption and breast cancer incidence and prognosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Breast (Edinburgh, Scotland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Change in alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality among postmenopausal women diagnosed with breast cancer.Breast cancer research and treatment · 2026Article
- Tumor Characteristics and Event Free Survival in Older and Younger Women with Early Breast Cancer.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2026Article
- Interpreting the Evidence on Wine Consumption and Health: A Narrative Review of the J-Shaped Association and Contemporary Alcohol Guidelines.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Associations of neighborhood racial and ethnic, economical, and educational segregation with breast cancer risk: The Multiethnic ohort Study.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2026Article
- Characterizing Alcohol Use and Expectancies for Alcohol Analgesia Among Breast Cancer Survivors With Arthralgia.Psycho-oncology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
19 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWhile alcohol consumption appears to influence the incidence of breast cancer (BC), its association with prognosis after a BC diagnosis remains less established. This meta-analysis aimed to explore the association between alcohol consumption on both BC incidence and outcomes.
methodsA systematic literature search was conducted up to May 1st, 2025 (CRD42025593784). Retrospective and prospective studies reporting BC incidence, recurrences, and survival outcomes in women with history of alcohol consumption were included. Analyses according to alcohol intake levels (light, intermediate, heavy consumption) were performed. Main outcomes were BC incidence, BC recurrences, BC-specific survival (BCSS), and overall survival (OS). Pooled relative risk (RR) and hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated.
resultsOut of 5208 screened records, 37 studies including 2,565,920 women were included. Among 17 studies reporting on BC incidence, any alcohol consumption was associated with an increased BC incidence (RR 1.17, 95%CI 1.09-1.26; p < 0.001). BC incidence increased proportionally with higher levels of alcohol consumption: light RR 1.13 (95%CI 1.05-1.23; p = 0.002), intermediate RR 1.28 (95%CI 1.18-1.39; p < 0.001), and heavy consumption RR 1.52 (95%CI 1.38-1.67; p < 0.001). Among 20 studies assessing BC outcomes, no associations were found between alcohol consumption and BC recurrences (RR 1.02, 95%CI 0.93-1.11) nor BCSS (HR 0.93, 95%CI 0.87-1.00), while light and intermediate alcohol consumption were associated with slightly improved OS: HR 0.85 (95%CI 0.78-0.92; p < 0.001) and HR 0.84 (95%CI 0.75-0.94; p = 0.002), respectively.
conclusionsAmong over 2.5 million women, alcohol consumption was associated with a dose-dependent increased risk of BC, while alcohol consumption did not appear to worsen prognosis in patients with prior BC diagnosis.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.