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A new study shows that women who consume higher volumes of alcohol place themselves at a higher risk of developing breast cancer.  

The National Cancer Institute’s study consisting of 1,900 post-menopausal women found that women who consumed seven to 14 alcoholic beverages per week possessed a 30 to 60 percent chance of being at risk for breast cancer.

Results showed that women would most likely be susceptible to a type of breast cancer that fewer women die from type called “estrogen and progesterone hormone receptor positive.”

“[These cancers] behave better, are less aggressive,” said Dr. Claudine Isaacs, one of the study’s authors.

This research further supports the results of a larger study published in November 2011 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. This previous study surveyed over 100,000 women and found that women who consumed six alcoholic drinks increased their breast cancer risk by 15 percent.

The new study stands out from others based on the type of cancers it examines.

“The findings from this study are significant because there are relatively few breast cancer risk factors that someone can actually modify or do something about…and alcohol intake is one of them,” said Issacs.

Although the research makes it difficult to evaluate how many drinks to consume, Isaacs believes that no more than one drink a day is safe.