Coffee liver cancer

The results of two recent studies show that a hot cup of joe could go a long way in helping to protect against liver and colon cancers.

Both studies, published by The Journal of the National Cancer Institute, weighed the impact of coffee drinking on cancer risk. Researchers at Tokyo's National Cancer Center found that habitual coffee drinkers had about half the incidence of liver cancer than was seen in those who never drank coffee. The second study, conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, concluded that consuming decaffeinated coffee--not caffeinated--lowered the risk of colorectal cancer by about 50 percent.

The NCC's study involved 90,500 men and women, more than 300 of whom developed liver cancer over the course of 10 years. Researchers determined that daily coffee drinkers exhibited about half the cancer risk faced by those who never drank the beverage, and the more coffee people consumed the lower their risk. The study did not distinguish between caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee.

The Harvard study examined data from two health trials involving about 134,000 people. Researchers collected information about participants' coffee, tea and caffeine consumption over a 15-year time period and found no relationship between caffeinated coffee or tea consumption and colorectal cancer risk. However, those who drank about two cups of decaffeinated coffee every day showed about half the occurrence of rectal cancer afflicting those who never drank decaffeinated coffee.