According to a new study, drinking just a few glasses of alcohol a week can increase the risk of breast cancer returning.

Of women who had survived the disease, those who consumed three or more drinks a week were nearly a third more likely to develop it again.

Post-menopausal or obese patients were most at risk, said findings from a study of 1,897 survivors presented to a conference in San Antonio, California.

The study found that those drinking two or more glasses of wine a day had the worst recurrence.

“Alcohol has been shown in animal studies to increase circulating levels of estrogen, and increase estrogen metabolism,” which may drive recurrence risk, said the paper’s lead author, Chief scientists Dr Marilyn Kwan, from Californian health provider Kaiser Permanente in Oakland., who presented the findings at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium this week.

Dr Kwan said: “Women previously diagnosed with breast cancer should consider limiting their consumption of alcohol to less than three drinks per week, especially women who are post-menopausal, and overweight or obese.”

Alcohol May Increase Risk Of Breast Cancer Returning: Study