Alcohol consumption does not increase the risk of surgical wound complications in breast cancer patients.

Alcohol consumption, despite influencing several organic processes, has been scarcely studied regarding the risk of developing surgical wound complications after surgical breast cancer treatment. The aim of this study was to analyse the association between alcohol consumption and the development of surgical wound complications in women undergoing surgical treatment for breast cancer. A prospective cohort study was conducted, comprising 486 women between 40 and 69 years old, interviewed during the preoperative period and followed up for 30 days. The occurrence of seroma, necrosis, surgical site infection (SSI), dehiscence, ecchymosis, and hematoma were considered as outcomes. Alcohol consumption during the 30 days prior to surgery was reported by 20.8% of the patients, with 8.4% being occasional consumers and 12.4% regular consumers. Binge drinking was reported by 10.2% of the women. The presence of surgical wound complications was observed in 65.2%. The most frequent complications were seroma (54.3%), necrosis (17.7%), and SSI (7.8%). No statistically significant association between alcohol consumption and the development of cicatricial complications was observed.

Cancer cases attributable to alcohol consumption in Brazil.

This is the first study specifically estimating the proportion of new cancer cases that could be attributable to alcohol consumption in the year 2012 in Brazil. The proportion of exposed cases and the association between alcohol and lip and oral cavity, nasopharynx, other pharynx, larynx, esophagus, colorectum, female breast, liver, and intrahepatic bile ducts cancers was based on data made available by the Integrator System of Hospital Cancer Registries. The cancer incidence was obtained from the estimates produced by GLOBOCAN. In 2012 there were 437,592 new cancer cases in Brazil, excluding non-melanoma skin cancers. Of these, alcohol consumption was responsible for 4.8% of all new cases. The alcohol-attributable fraction was higher for men (7.0%) than for women (2.6%). A total of 21,000 new cancer cases, 15,554 in men and 5,646 in women, could be attributable to alcohol consumption. In Brazil, a significant fraction of cancer cases can be attributed to alcohol consumption, and public health measures to prevent heavy alcohol use should be implemented.

Alcohol consumption and the risk of cancer in Brazil: A study involving 203,506 cancer patients.

This study aims to analyze the association between alcohol consumption and the risk of developing the most common types of cancer in the Brazilian population. It is a case-control study in which the most common types of cancer were considered as cases and non-melanoma skin cancers as controls. Data were routinely obtained by hospital-based cancer registrars. Individuals between 18 and 100 years old, diagnosed between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2009, with information regarding alcohol consumption, were included. The odds ratio (OR) for each type of cancer was calculated, adjusting for confounding variables. The etiologic fraction (EF) was calculated in cases with statistically significant results. The study included 203,506 individuals (110,550 women and 92,956 men), with an average age of 59 years. A statistically significant association was found between alcohol consumption and increased risk of cancers of the respiratory and digestive systems, prostate, and female breast. The association between alcohol consumption and cancers of the urinary tract, male genital organs, and other neoplasias was not statistically significant. Consumption of alcoholic beverages increased the risk of developing cancer of the nasal cavity, pyriform sinus, oral cavity, oropharynx, nasopharynx, larynx, hypopharynx, lung, esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, breast, prostate, colon and rectum, and anus and anal canal.