In a new video to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Ms Harriet Rumgay, a researcher in the Cancer Surveillance Branch at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), presents the latest findings on the burden of cancer attributable to alcohol, as well as an overview of how alcohol consumption can increase the risk of developing breast cancer.
Recently published research, led by scientists at IARC, indicates that drinking alcohol caused almost 100 000 cases of breast cancer globally in 2020. Nearly 40 000 of those cases occurred in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region, representing about 7% of all breast cancers in the region. Breast cancer is the most common cancer type caused by alcohol consumption among women globally.
In 2020, an estimated 2.26 million new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed worldwide, representing one quarter of all cancers diagnosed in women, and about 685 000 women died of breast cancer.
Ms Harriet Rumgay Doctoral Student – Cancer Surveillance |