World Health Organisation Europe: Few women know alcohol linked to breast cancer

COPENHAGEN: Just one in five women in Europe are aware that alcohol is a risk factor for developing breast cancer, a ‘major’ health concern in the region, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned Friday.

“Only 21 per cent of women across 14 European countries were aware of the connection between alcohol consumption and the risk of developing breast cancer. Just 10 per cent of the men surveyed knew of this link,” the European branch of the WHO said in a statement, noting that awareness was even lower among men.

The WHO Europe comprises 53 countries and includes Central Asia. Some 600,000 cases of breast cancer were reported in Europe in 2022. The WHO did not provide its own data on how many of those cases were alcoholrelated. But it cited 2020 data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which showed that of 575,917 new breast cancer cases ,39,248 were alcohol attributable, or around seven per cent.

“The role of alcohol as a preventable risk factor for breast cancer is critical,” the WHO said.

For women in Europe, breast cancer is “the primary cancer caused by alcohol, making up 66 percent of all cases of alcohol attributable cancers ,” it said.

Alcohol consumption affects levels of oestrogen, which plays a significant role in the development and progression of many breast cancers.

The WHO called for new national policies to bring about a change in drinking habits across Europe, noting that there have been ‘no changes in alcohol consumption per capita in the European Union since 2010.’

Breast cancer is the secondmost detected cancer, with 2.3 million cases worldwide in 2022, according to the WHO.