Can moderate alcohol consumption increase the risk of breast cancer?

By Dr Shiroma De Silva-Minor
Clinical oncology

Dr Shiroma De Silva-Minor is an accomplished and experienced consultant breast oncologist who specialises in breast cancer (both male and female), breast screening, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, intraoperative radiation therapy, inflammatory breast cancers, HER2 positive disease, triple-negative breast cancers and breast cancer in pregnancy.

Dr De Silva-Minor oversees the entire (non-surgical) breast cancer pathway so she can advise on all aspects of treatment, including genetic counselling and testing, systemic (chemo) therapy, radiotherapy, and lifestyle factors in optimising health and minimising disease recurrence.  Dr De Silva-Minor was a Consultant Clinical Oncologist at the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust from 2008 till 2024 and recently left the NHS. The doctor now  has a private practise at the Cromwell Hospital in London and GenesisCare in Oxford.

Dr De Silva-Minor, whose clinical expertise is in the treatment of early, metastatic and recurrent breast cancer, notably obtained her first medical qualification in 1995, with her medical doctorate from the prestigious Cardiff-based University of Wales College of Medicine. In 1999, Dr De Silva-Minor was awarded the Membership of the Royal College of Physicians (UK).  Dr De Silva-Minor undertook  specialist oncology training at centres of oncological excellence in London, including The Middlesex Hospital, The Royal Free Hospital, as well as The Royal Marsden Hospital, amongst others.

In 2003, Dr De Silva-Minor was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal College of Radiologists and was also recognised as a clinical oncology specialist on the General Medical Council's register in 2007. 

Dr De Silva-Minor has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals. During a Fellowship in head and neck radiation oncology at The Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Canada, Dr De Silva-Minor was awarded the Prize for Academic Excellence by the Princess Margaret Hospital and the University of Toronto for her research into the use of PETCT scans (Positron Emission Tomography) when identifying head and neck tumours for treatment with radiotherapy.   Dr De Silva-Minor was a member of the breast cancer expert panel for the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), updating clinical guidelines on breast cancer management.

Dr De Silva-Minor is also collaborating on a metanalysis with the Early Breast Cancer Trialists' Collaborative Group (EBCTCG) to bring together the research on radiotherapy clinical trials to better understand how to optimally treat breast cancer patients with radiotherapy.  Dr De Silva-Minor is a member of the Advisory Board on Cancer in Pregnancy (ABCIP), an international panel of experts in managing breast cancer in pregnancy. 

Dr De Silva-Minor is a passionate advocate for empowering her patients to be involved in their management decisions. Treatment is completely bespoke to individual patients, their specific tumour subtype, taking into consideration the individual's beliefs, wishes and personal circumstances.

Overall assessment of their patients