TWO WINES A DAY DOUBLE BREAST-CANCER RISK

A study by researchers at the University of Chicago of almost 185,000 women found that just two large glasses of wine a day can raise the risk of breast cancer by 51%. One large glass of wine raises the risk by about a  third.

The study, one of the largest of its kind, adds to a growing evidence base linking alcohol to a disease which kills over 1,000 UK women each month.

Indeed, experts believe alcohol is the main factor behind surging rates of breast cancer in the UK and is to blame for one in 20 of the 44,000 cases diagnosed annually. It is also blamed for the increasing number of women with liver and fertility problems.

The University of Chicago study showed that the link also applied to beer and spirits, even when other factors such as age, weight and family history of breast cancer were taken into account. Beer raised the threat slightly more than wine, but wine was surprisingly more dangerous than spirits.

Previous research has shown binge drinking dramatically raises the risk of breast cancer, with women who drink the equivalent of two bottles of wine over a weekend mroe than doubling their changes of getting the disease. It is thought that alcohol stops the body from breaking down oestrogen, a hormone which can fuel the growth of breast cancer. Chemicals produced when alcohol is digested might also be linked.