Drinking a few glasses of wine or beer per week could faintly increase the risk of developing breast cancer in women, according to a study based of 100,000 nurses.

Says Dr Wendy Chen of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, 'Even at low levels of alcohol consumption, three to six drinks per week, we found a modest increase in risk'.

'There wasn't a particular period in which it was safe to drink alcohol.'

The risks, however, aren't huge. For drinkers the risk of developing breast cancer is 15 per cent more than teetotalers. Of women who sipped three to six glasses of wine per week, 3.3 per cent would develop breast cancer over the next decade, in comparison to 2.8 per cent of women who abstain from alcohol and 3.5 per cent of women who have up to 13 drinks per week.

Despite researchers doing their best to rule out other factors in the study that contribute to breast cancer, there is no full proof that alcohol is the only factor of blame.

Read more.