WASHINGTON DC: If you have a daily coffee habit, here is something to buzz about: A new study has found that those cups of coffee cuts the risk of bowel cancer.
Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center of Keck Medicine of USC examined over 5,100 men and women who had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer within the past six months, along with an additional 4,000 men and women with no history of colorectal cancer to serve as a control group.
"We found that drinking coffee is associated with lower risk of colorectal cancer, and the more coffee consumed, the lower the risk," said senior author Stephen Gruber.
The data showed that even moderate coffee consumption, between one to two servings a day, was associated with a 26 percent reduction in the odds of developing colorectal cancer after adjusting for known risk factors. Moreover, the risk of developing colorectal cancer continued to decrease to up to 50 percent when participants drank more than 2.5 servings of coffee each day. The indication of decreased risk was seen across all types of coffee, both caffeinated and decaffeinated.
"We were somewhat surprised to see that caffeine did not seem to matter," Gruber said. "This indicates that caffeine alone is not responsible for coffee's protective properties."
First author Stephanie Schmit said that the good news is that our data presents a decreased risk of colorectal cancer regardless of what flavour or form of coffee you prefer.
The study appears in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.