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A new study reports that women who have more than two alcoholic drinks a day double their risk of endometrial cancer compared with those who drink less. Researchers looked at a multiethnic group of 41,574 postmenopausal women, following them for an average of eight years, questioning them about their diets and drinking habits. They found 324 cases of endometrial cancer, a type of cancer that forms in the lining of the uterus.

The study appeared online Aug. 31 and will be published in an upcoming print issue of "The International Journal of Cancer."

After controlling for body mass index, age, hormone replacement and whether they had been pregnant, researchers found that women who had less than two drinks a day had no increased risk of endometrial cancer, but those who had more than two drinks a day had a little more than twice the risk. It made no difference whether the women drank beer, wine or hard liquor.

According to the National Cancer Institute, there are roughly 40,000 new cases of endometrial cancer a year resulting in 7,400 deaths.

The exact mechanism is unknown, but alcohol raises estrogen levels, and it is well established that prolonged exposure to estrogen increases mutations and DNA replication errors, which are predecessors of tumors.

Veronica Wendy Setiawan, lead researcher and an assistant professor of research at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, said few studies had been done on the connections between endometrial cancer and drinking, adding that "it's one more lifestyle change women can make.”