Who reaps the most cancer-protective benefits from caffeine?

"Not everyone equally benefits from caffeine consumption," Han said. The researchers would like to investigate which genes may explain why some people gain cancer protection from drinking caffeine, he said.

Coffee has recently been found to lower people's risk of dying over a given period, and to decrease the risk of prostate, breast and endometrial cancer, said Mucci.

But the mechanisms at play in these conditions may be different, Mucci said. "For prostate cancer and endometrial cancers, the data show the same benefit of lower risk from caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee," she said.  

Coffee influences several body processes — it has antioxidant effects, helps insulin regulation and may lower inflammation, Mucci said. "It may be that different components of coffee are important for different cancers."

The study is published today (July 2) in Cancer Research; some of the results were presented at a 2011 cancer research meeting.

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5 Comments

1. 1. marclevesque 07:23 PM 7/2/12

   Is it as simple as individuals in the sample who consume more caffeine also tend to spend less time in the sun ?
   
   n.b., Published on the 1st of july, not on 2nd as stated
   
   http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/gca?gca=canres%3B72%2F13%2F3282&submit=Get+All+Checked+Abstracts
   

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2. 2. zbicyclist 11:08 PM 7/2/12

   There's also this study, suggesting the caffeine in about 5 cups of coffee may lower the risk of dementia.
   http://mikekr.blogspot.com/2012/07/can-caffeine-keep-away-dementia.html

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3. 3. Burnard 03:50 AM 7/3/12

   I worry about studies relying totally on association like this. Especially as i know how easy it is to play with statistics and find what you want, or what is statistically significant. I prefer more robust science, although this method has uses for finding new areas to research.

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4. 4. lowndesw in reply to Burnard 07:21 AM 7/3/12

   I agree, Burnard. Studies like this are primarily beneficial in generating sensational headlines and thereby comments from unsuspecting viewers like you and me.

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5. 5. jtdwyer 09:15 AM 7/3/12

   marclevesque - I agree - if you drink so much coffee & go out into the Sun you'll soon discover just how sweaty you can get! For women, coffee also seems to discourage tanning booth use...
   
   Burnard, lowndesw - Yep!

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