Coffee-Lovers are at Lower Risk of Developing Cancer

Published on Thursday, 08 December 2011 10:20

	By Raj Bilkhu Follow @Journo_Raj

Most of us like a good catch-up over a coffee and it turns out it could be doing us a world of good. That goes for women in particular, who could reduce the risk of developing uterine cancer by 25%.

Scientists at Harvard University conducted a study on more than 67,000 women over 26 years. They found that those who drink more than four cups of coffee daily are 25% less likely to contract endometrial cancer.

For those women who drank two or three cups of coffee a day, there was only a 7% decrease in risk, according to the study published in the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention journal.

Coffee is already proven to fight some diseases. Researchers believe the same antioxidant properties could contribute to fighting off cancer.

A senior researcher in the study and professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, Edward Giovannucci, M.D., Sc.D. explained why they studied the potential link between coffee and cancer;

“Coffee has already been shown to be protective against diabetes due to its effect on insulin...So we hypothesised that we’d see a reduction in some cancers as well.”

Throughout the study, Giovannucci and his colleagues found 672 cases of endometrial cancer. So, only 1% of the entire study participants contracted the disease.

Endometrial cancer is a cancer that develops in the tissue lining of the uterus.

They looked at different factors including weight because obesity is linked to higher chance of contracting this cancer. However, weight did not relate to the impact of coffee on developing cancer in the lining of the uterus.

The use of hormones in tablets, such as birth control pills, was also monitored in the study.  Possible disparities in participants’ childbirth history were considered too. This is because higher long-term exposure to estrogen is thought to increase endometrial cancer risk.

However, these factors did not contribute to the overall result.

“It is possible that coffee could lower insulin levels and may lower levels of free estrogen circulating in the body,” suggests Giovannucci.

The link of decaf with the risk of uterine cancer is difficult to confirm because few of the study participants drank decaf coffee.

Moreover, if eating your recommended five fruit and vegetables a day feels like a chore, Giovannucci says the benefits of coffee are not just limited to warding off illnesses. 

“Laboratory testing has found that coffee has much more antioxidants than most vegetables and fruits.”

One factor that does correlate to higher risk of endometrial cancer is obesity. Some studies have found women are five-to-ten times more likely to develop this cancer if they are severely overweight.

Thus, the addition of sugar and cream to coffee would counteract the positive effects of fighting cancer. Therefore, researchers recommend that women maintain a healthy diet and regular exercise to ward off potential illnesses.

The study has shown a positive correlation between reduced risk of cancer in the uterus lining if women drink more coffee. However, researchers cannot identify coffee as the only reason for this.

“It would be premature to make a recommendation that women drink coffee to lower their endometrial cancer risk,” says Giovannucci.

He has called for further in depth studies to ascertain how other factors such as weight and lifestyle could play a role in fighting off cancer.

Relevant Links

Harvard School of Public Health

Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention journal