STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Women taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) should avoid drinking alcohol because it can raise their risk of developing the most common kind of breast cancer, Swedish scientists said on Tuesday.

Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet said they saw an increased incidence of estrogen positive breast cancer, the most common type of disease, especially among women who drank alcohol and took hormones to relieve symptoms of the menopause.

"Our results suggest that women taking hormones should avoid alcohol," said Professor Alicja Wolk, whose team have published their findings in the U.S. Journal of the National Cancer Institute.