While it is too early for doctors to start advising their male patients to take up the habit of regular coffee drinking, data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference revealed a strong inverse association between coffee consumption and the risk of lethal and advanced prostate cancers.
In the study led by Kathryn Wilson, a postdoctoral fellow at the Channing Laboratory, Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, researchers found men who drank the most coffee had a 60 per cent lower risk of aggressive cancer than men who did not drink any coffee.
'Coffee has effects on insulin and glucose metabolism as well as sex hormone levels, all of which play a role in prostate cancer. It was plausible that there may be an association between coffee and prostate cancer,' said Ms Wilson.
This is the first study of its kind to look at both overall risk of prostate cancer and risk of localized, advanced and lethal disease.
'Few studies have looked prospectively at this association, and none have looked at coffee and specific prostate cancer outcomes,' said Ms Wilson.
'We specifically looked at different types of prostate cancer, such as advanced versus localized cancers or high-grade versus low-grade cancers.'
However, caffeine is actually not the key factor in this association, Ms Wilson added. The researchers are unsure which components of the beverage are most important, as coffee contains many biologically active compounds like antioxidants and minerals.
'Very few lifestyle factors have been consistently associated with prostate cancer risk, especially with risk of aggressive disease, so it would be very exciting if this association is confirmed in other studies,' said Ms Wilson.
'Our results do suggest there is no reason to stop drinking coffee out of any concern about prostate cancer.'
The researchers hope this association might also help understand the biology of prostate cancer and possible chemoprevention measures.
'Coffee has effects on insulin and glucose metabolism as well as sex hormone levels, all of which play a role in prostate cancer. It was plausible that there may be an association between coffee and prostate cancer,' said Ms Wilson.
This is the first study of its kind to look at both overall risk of prostate cancer and risk of localized, advanced and lethal disease.
'Few studies have looked prospectively at this association, and none have looked at coffee and specific prostate cancer outcomes,' said Ms Wilson.
'We specifically looked at different types of prostate cancer, such as advanced versus localized cancers or high-grade versus low-grade cancers.'
However, caffeine is actually not the key factor in this association, Ms Wilson added. The researchers are unsure which components of the beverage are most important, as coffee contains many biologically active compounds like antioxidants and minerals.
'Very few lifestyle factors have been consistently associated with prostate cancer risk, especially with risk of aggressive disease, so it would be very exciting if this association is confirmed in other studies,' said Ms Wilson.
'Our results do suggest there is no reason to stop drinking coffee out of any concern about prostate cancer.'
The researchers hope this association might also help understand the biology of prostate cancer and possible chemoprevention measures.
No comments:
Post a Comment