New research finds that colon cancer patients who regularly drink caffeinated coffee may be lowering their risk of tumor recurrence and death from the disease.
CBS news reports on the new study.
Researchers are saying that coffee helps eliminate tumor reoccurrence and dying from the disease.
“The study found that people with advanced (stage III) colon cancer who drank four or more cups of caffeinated coffee every day had 52 percent lower odds of disease recurrence or cancer death compared with coffee abstainers,” according to CBS news. Researchers also found that even people who regularly drank slightly less (around two to three cups) per day did reap some of the same advantages, just to a lesser degree.
Experts are saying it is important to note that this study was only designed to find a link between coffee consumption and a decreased risk of colon cancer recurrence or death from colon cancer. It was not designed to substantiate a cause-and-effect relationship.
The study’s lead author, Dr. Charles Fuchs, director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, commented on his findings. He said, “There is already an abundance of evidence that diet and lifestyle can have a great deal of positive impact in terms of reducing the risk for developing colon cancer; now we have found that caffeinated coffee seems to independently improve the outcome for colon cancer patients.”
The study’s findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. How was the study conducted? To find out coffee's impact on colon cancer, the research team focused on around 950 people with stage III colon cancer. All of these people completed nutrition questionnaires while undergoing postsurgical chemotherapy treatment between 1999 and 2001.
Researchers collected dietary information again six months after completion of chemotherapy. The study participants were asked about more than 130 different food and drink products. Those products included caffeinated coffee, decaffeinated coffee and non-herbal (caffeinated) tea. In turn, cancer recurrence and patient fatality rates were followed for an average of a little over seven years.
The results showed that cancer came back in 329 people, mostly within five years of the initial treatment. Out of these, 288 people died of their disease. In addition thirty-six people who did not have a diagnosis of a cancer recurrence also passed away during the study follow-up.
The experts found that consuming two cups of caffeinated coffee daily was connected with a decreased risk for cancer recurrence and colon cancer death. “That protection was even greater for those consuming three or four cups of coffee daily. The findings held up even after accounting for other foods that might impact disease progression, such as sugar-sweetened beverages and carbohydrates,” according to CBS news.
In addition to coffee or regardless of whether one drinks coffee, researchers are saying for people to avoid obesity and a high carbohydrate diet to fend off colon cancer.
