Women who drink a lot of coffee may be less likely to develop one type of breast cancer, reports Breast Cancer Research.
The Swedish team led by prof. Per Hall of the Karolinska Institutet analyzed data on 6000 women. Drinking more than five cups of coffee a day has been found to halve the risk of developing an aggressive form of breast cancer that lacks estrogen receptors. Such cancer accounts for about a quarter of all breast cancers, and is highly resistant to treatment, making it dangerous.
Experts commenting on these results, however, say that the research needs to be repeated, and women who want to reduce the risk, rather than drinking a lot of coffee, should rather focus on a healthy lifestyle – little alcohol, a lot of exercise and a proper body weight.
Swedish scientists have set out to further investigate the link between coffee and breast cancer. It is not known which of the many ingredients in coffee could possibly have anti-cancer effects (PAP).