A new report published in the International Journal of Epidemiology posits that drinking coffee does not affect one’s risk of developing or dying from cancer. Recently instated academic literature has successfully linked two compounds found in Arabica beans and the impediment of tumor growth, strengthening studies conducted in the past locating antioxidants and a symphony of other bioactive ingredients found in coffee that enable cells to more efficiently repair themselves in the wake of damage done by free radicals.
All of this to say that what may read as an unorthodox addition to coffee science at first glance, is actually consistent with recent research on the subject, even if none of these finds have been categorically translated in human trials.
Having reported on some of these previously conducted studies, I found this latest one to be particularly relevant after its implications were made more clear. Typically, research animated by dietary concerns is relayed in the broadest of terms, in order for experts to properly assess risks and for commentators to sufficiently feed the panic machine. For instance, a recent paper intending to establish a level of liver toxicity in humans for CBD was summarily sensationalized by media outlets upon publication.
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New findings
The researchers behind the new study published in the Journal of Epidemiology, are fully aware of the recent surge in coffee culture as well as the medical irresolution regarding the beverage’s association with the second leading cause of death in the world. Its senior author and head of QIMR Berghofer’s Statistical Genetics Group is an associate professor named Stuart MacGregor.
Macgregor recently sat down with MedicalXpress to illuminate the range of the finds, explaining, “Our two-pronged research looked at whether cancer rates differed among people with different levels of self-reported coffee consumption, and whether the same trend was seen when we replaced self-reported consumption with genetic predisposition towards coffee consumption.”
Data devised from a study group composed of more than 300,000 participants, determined that there is no discernible relationship between the amount of coffee an individual consumes a day and the development of particular kinds of cancer-the very same was motioned for one’s risk of dying from the disease after diagnosis.
Lead researcher, Jue-Sheng Ong, and his team pulled from a Biobank cohort for more than 46,000 people suffering from the most invasive forms of cancer( breast, ovarian, lung and prostate cancers) and 7,000 people that succumbed to it. This genetic and preference information was then juxtaposed with that of 27,000 individuals that have never been diagnosed with the disease.
As far as the correlative risk associated with the specific cancers mentioned above, it was found that drinking coffee proffered no positive or negative impact. However, Mr. Ong conceded that there’s still some ambiguity surrounding coffee consumption and colorectal cancer, commenting, “Those who reported drinking a lot of coffee had a slightly lower risk of developing cancer, but conversely examination of data from those people with a higher genetic predisposition to drink more coffee seemed to indicate a greater risk of developing the disease,”
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