Can coffee protect against female cancer?

Wednesday November 23rd, 2011

Drinking coffee may help protect women against a kind of womb cancer, researchers said today.

Dr Edward Giovannucci of Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and his team believe that coffee is emerging as a protective agent against several cancers.

As it has been shown to be protective against diabetes due to its effect on insulin, the researchers believed it could also help reduce the risk of endometrial cancer, which is often linked to raised insulin levels.

They analysed the link in 67,470 women taking part in the Nurses' Health Study. Over 26 years there were 672 known cases of endometrial cancer, which affects the lining of the womb.

Analyses showed that drinking more than four cups of coffee per day was linked with a 25 per cent reduced risk of endometrial cancer, compared with no coffee. Two to three cups a day was linked to a seven per cent reduced risk.

Full results will soon be published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Interestingly, a protective effect was also seen for decaffeinated coffee. Drinking more than two cups a day was linked to a 22 per cent reduced risk.

Dr Giovannucci said: "Coffee has long been linked with smoking, and if you drink coffee and smoke, the positive effects of coffee are going to be more than outweighed by the negative effects of smoking.

"However, laboratory testing has found that coffee has much more antioxidants than most vegetables and fruits."

He calls for more rigorous randomized studies of the effects of coffee, because in this study the women decided their own intake.

A prospective cohort study of coffee consumption and risk of endometrial cancer over a 26-year of follow-Up. Je, Y. et al. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention In press.

Tags: Cancer | Diet & Food | North America | Women’s Health & Gynaecology

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