--- title: The Link Between Alcohol and Breast Cancer Is Stronger description: Scientists find new evidence for the connection between alcohol and higher risk of breast cancer among women. canonical: https://time.com/4760290/alcohol-breast-cancer/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-01T14:14:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T04:40:02.941Z article:section: Health og:title: The Link Between Alcohol and Breast Cancer Is Stronger og:description: The latest research extends the risk to black women as well as white women og:url: https://time.com/4760290/alcohol-breast-cancer/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt668f4c50c36f5bd3/6988cb392dce012f3a9ed40d/gettyimages-147958053.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Red Wine Pouring into Glass og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Link Between Alcohol and Breast Cancer Is Stronger twitter:description: The latest research extends the risk to black women as well as white women twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt668f4c50c36f5bd3/6988cb392dce012f3a9ed40d/gettyimages-147958053.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Link Between Alcohol and Breast Cancer Is Stronger  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent May 1, 2017 2:14 PM UTC  Tastyart Ltd Rob White—Getty Images  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent May 1, 2017 2:14 PM UTC The scientific link between [alcohol and breast cancer](http://time.com/4002182/drinking-alcohol-cancer/) is strong, but most of the research backing it has been done in white women, not diverse groups of women. Now, in a new analysis published in [_Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention_](http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/), scientists find the same risk among black women. They studied more than 22,000 women in the African-American Breast Cancer Epidemiology and Risk Consortium, in which the women answered questionnaires about their alcohol habits. Their answers were correlated with records of breast cancer diagnoses. Women who reported drinking more than seven drinks a week had a higher risk of breast cancer of nearly all types compared to women who drank less. Women who drank 14 or more alcohol beverages weekly had a 33% higher chance of developing breast cancer than women who drank four or fewer beverages a week. **MORE:** [The Alcohol-Cancer Link Is ‘Strong,’ One Expert Warns](http://time.com/4418877/alcohol-cancer-link/) The findings strengthen what’s already known about alcohol as a risk factor for breast cancer. Researchers believe alcohol can boost estrogen levels, which then feed certain types of breast cancer. 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