In a new study from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, researchers found in people with metastatic colorectal cancer, consumption of a few cups of coffee a day was linked to longer survival and a lower risk of the cancer worsening.
In the study, the team examined patients with previously untreated, locally advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer.
As part of the trial, participants reported their dietary intake, including coffee consumption, on a questionnaire at the time of enrollment.
The team found that in 1,171 patients treated for metastatic colorectal cancer, those who reported drinking two to three cups of coffee a day were likely to live longer overall, and had a longer time before their disease worsened, than those who didn’t drink coffee.
Participants who drank larger amounts of coffee—more than four cups a day—had an even greater benefit in these measures. The benefits held for both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee.
The findings enabled researchers to establish an association, but not a cause-and-effect relationship, between coffee drinking and reduced risk of cancer progression and death among study participants.
The team says several compounds in coffee have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and other properties that may be active against cancer.
Previous studies have found that higher coffee intake was linked to improved survival in patients with stage 3 colon cancer.
Although it is premature to recommend a high intake of coffee as a potential treatment for colorectal cancer, the study suggests that drinking coffee is not harmful and may potentially be beneficial
If you care about colon cancer, please read studies about a new way to diagnose colon cancer and findings of 5 things you should know about colon cancer.
For more information about colon cancer treatment and prevention, please see recent studies about this diet may double your colon cancer risk and results showing that new imaging tech could detect colon cancer with 100% accuracy.
The study is published in JAMA Oncology. One author of the study is Dana-Farber’s Chen Yuan, ScD.
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