Drinking at least four cups of coffee a day is nearly 60 percent. lowers the risk of recurrence or progression of prostate cancer, informs the journal Cancer Causes & Control.
As the authors of the study commented – scientists from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle (Washington) – this may be related to the presence of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant ingredients in coffee.
At the same time, they noted that they did not observe that coffee drinking was associated with a decrease in mortality among patients treated in the past for prostate cancer. However, this may be due to the fact that the number of deaths due to this cancer in the study group was too small to obtain a statistically significant correlation, they emphasize.
The study included 1001 men aged 35-74, among whom two years before the diagnosis of prostate cancer without metastases, data on the frequency of consumption of various foods and drinks were collected. Everyone also provided information on other lifestyle elements, family history of malignant tumors, medications used, and participation in prostate cancer screening (such studies are still being conducted in the US, although many experts consider them more harmful than beneficial) .
More than five years after diagnosis, researchers contacted patients to see if their disease was progressing or relapsing. The final analysis included 630 men who met all the necessary criteria, of which 12 percent. they drank at least four cups of coffee a day.
It turned out that the greatest amateurs of this drink had nearly 60 percent. a lower risk of recurrence and / or progression of the cancer compared to those who drank no more than one cup of coffee a week.
An analysis of the relationship between coffee drinking and the risk of dying from prostate cancer was carried out among 894 men, whose health status was followed for an average of 8,5 years. Only 38 deaths in this group were directly caused by prostate cancer. Scientists have not shown a relationship between the two factors.
They also did not find any correlation between tea drinking and the recurrence and / or progression of prostate cancer, as well as a decrease in the risk of death from it. However, the authors of the study point out that few men in the study group drank large amounts of tea regularly. Therefore, it is difficult to draw any binding conclusions on the basis of these studies.
As they recall, these results are in line with the results of the extensive study entitled Harvard’s Health Professionals Follow-up Study. It showed that men who drink a lot of coffee (at least six cups a day) have approx. 60 percent. a lower risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer (which metastasizes or progresses rapidly) compared with those who do not drink it at all. A work on this subject was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in May 2011.
According to scientists’ speculations, the bioactive compounds present in coffee may prevent the development of cancer or slow it down, among others. due to anti-inflammatory properties and neutralizing oxygen free radicals (molecules harmful to cells, especially in excess). Among the active ingredients of coffee, researchers mention, among others caffeine, diterpenes and chlorogenic acid. Caffeine can inhibit cell growth and, at the same time, promote their suicidal death (so-called apoptosis). In this way, the body eliminates abnormally changed cells from which, for example, a cancer could develop. Research shows that the process of cell apoptosis can also be stimulated by diterpenes, such as kahweol present in coffee. In turn, chlorogenic acid is an antioxidant and inhibits the DNA methylation process, which is involved in the development of many malignant neoplasms.
Scientists emphasize that further research is needed to verify the role of coffee in the prevention of recurrence of prostate cancer (it must be reliable clinical studies) and to explain the protective mechanism of action of its components.
For now, neither coffee nor any specific compound contained in it can be used in the secondary prevention of prostate cancer, the researchers reserve.
Besides, drinking coffee is not recommended for all men, reminds co-author Milan Geybels (now at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands).
“While coffee is a very popular drink, we must point out that increasing coffee consumption may be harmful for some men. For example, men with hypertension may be prone to the adverse effects of its caffeine content. And some coffee ingredients can raise the level of cholesterol in the blood serum and thus increase the risk of coronary heart disease “- the researcher explains. He adds that patients who have questions or concerns about drinking coffee should talk to their GP.
The health effects of coffee can also be related to age. In August, the Mayo Clinic Proceedings magazine published an article which concluded that drinking more than four cups of coffee a day may be associated with higher mortality in people under 55 years of age.
Geybels also draws attention to the shortcomings of the latest study, which include the lack of data on whether and how coffee consumption changed among men after prostate cancer diagnosis, whether the coffee they drank contained caffeine or not, and how it was prepared (in espresso machines, overflow machines or poured with hot water), which may affect the content of bioactive ingredients in the infusion. (PAP)