Cancer Letters

Cancer Letters

Volume 277, Issue 2, 18 May 2009, Pages 121-125
Cancer Letters

Mini-review
Coffee consumption and the risk of cancer: An overview

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.canlet.2008.08.022Get rights and content

Abstract

Habitual coffee drinking has been associated with a reduced risk of mortality and chronic diseases, including cancer. The favourable influence of coffee is supported by several plausible mechanisms due to the presence of a variety of biological compounds such as caffeine, diterpenes, caffeic acid, polyphenols as well as volatile aroma and heterocyclic substances. Current evidence suggests that coffee consumption is associated with a reduced risk of liver, kidney, and to a lesser extent, premenopausal breast and colorectal cancers, while it is unrelated to prostate, pancreas and ovary cancers. Coffee drinking may still help reduce death due to liver cancer.

Introduction

Coffee is among the most widely consumed beverages in the world and is top dietary antioxidant source in the Nordic countries [1]. Although some possible negative effects, such as spontaneous abortion and stillbirth have been suggested during pregnancy [2], habitual coffee consumption has been associated with a substantially lower risk of mortality [3] as well as degenerative, progressive and chronic diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease [4], Parkinson’s disease [5], type 2 diabetes [6], and coronary heart disease [7].

The relationship between coffee and cancer holds great interest, given a large array of compounds found in that beverage that could potentially alter cancer risk through several biological mechanisms. Coffee is the major source of caffeine and some animal studies have reported caffeine to both stimulate and suppress tumors, depending upon the species and the phase of administration [8]. Coffee contains two specific diterpenes, cafestol and kahweal, which produce biological effects compatible with anticarcinogenic properties, including the induction of phase II enzymes involved in carcinogen detoxification [9], [10], specific inhibition of the activity of phase I enzyme responsible for carcinogen activation and stimulation of intracellular antioxidant defence mechanisms [11]. Coffee is an important source of polyphenols, such as lignan phytoestrogens and flavonoids [12] and polyphenols are found to exhibit anticarcinogenic properties in several laboratory and epidemiological studies [13], [14].

Coffee is also a major source of the chlorogenic acid that contributes to its antioxidant effect [15]. Intake of chlorogenic acid has been shown to reduce glucose concentrations in rats [16] and intake of quinides, degradation products of chlorogenic acid, increases insulin sensitivity [16]. Chronic hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance are confirmed markers of high risk for some cancer sites [17].

Hypermethylation of DNA is a common characteristic in tumor cells and is a key epigenetic mechanism for silencing various genes, including those encoding the tumor suppressor proteins, DNA repair enzymes, and receptors. Gene-specific hypermethylation is known to be associated with inactivation of various pathways involved in the tumorigenic process, including cell cycle regulation, inflammatory and stress response and apoptosis. It has been demonstrated that caffeic acid, the main ingredient of coffee, inhibits DNA methylation in cultured MCF-7 and MAD-MB-231 human cancer cells [18]. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of associations between caffeinated coffee consumption and risk of major cancer sites.

Section snippets

Breast cancer

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-associated deaths in women in most industrialized countries. The incidence of this disease in women in Western countries is about 5 times that in women in developing countries and Japan [19]. There is no consistent association among the case-control studies that have evaluated the relationship between coffee consumption and the incidence of breast cancer although some studies have reported statistically significant inverse association,

Colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide. It is predominantly a disease of Westernized countries with incidence rates approximately 10-fold higher in developed than in developing countries [19]. It has been suggested that coffee is a protective factor against colorectal cancer through its carcinogenic constituents, cafestol and kahweal [10] and its ability to induce excretion of bile acids and neutral sterols into the colon [26]. Moreover, coffee might decrease colorectal

Prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in the world and the sixth most common cause of cancer death. A pooled analysis of data from six cohort studies examining the relationship between coffee consumption and the risk of prostate cancer found a cumulative effect estimate of 1.00 (95% CI 0.94-1.07) per cup per day increase [24]. Another meta-analysis of five case-control studies yielded a summary odds ratio (OR) of 1.02 (95% CI 0.99–1.04) per cup per day increase [24]. As well, one

Ovary cancer

Ovarian cancer is both the seven most common cancer and cause of cancer death in women worldwide. Relatively few studies have been carried out on the efficacy of coffee to influence the risk of ovarian cancer. An early meta-analysis of the crude data of seven case-control studies of coffee consumption and ovarian cancer published before 1990 reported a combined OR of 1.3 (95% CI 1.1–1.5) for coffee users versus nonusers [37]. Recent case-control studies found reduced risk [38], [39] and a

Pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is among the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with a 5-year survival rate less than 5%, and a case fatality proportion of 99% within 12 months of diagnosis [44]. Over the past two decades, many studies have been carried out on coffee and pancreatic cancer after the early warning in the early 1980s that coffee consumption was related to pancreatic cancer risk [45]. Some ecological [46], [47], case-control [48], [49], and cohort [50], [51], [52] studies carried

Liver cancer

Primary Liver cancer, which includes hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as well as angiosarcoma, cholangiocarcinoma, and hepatoblastoma [8] is the fifth most common cancer throughout the world. The incidence is highest in developing countries, where about 80% of all patients are found [53]. Several studies have considered the relationship between coffee consumption and the risk of HCC. A meta-analysis, including six case-control studies from southern Europe and Japan (1551 cases) and four cohort

Kidney cancer

Over the past three decades, kidney cancer incidence rates have been increasing steadily [63]. There is speculation that the risk of kidney cancer may be affected by the quantity and type of beverages consumed since the major functions of the kidneys are to regulate water and inorganic-ion balance and to excrete waste products and foreign chemicals [64]. Coffee consumption may reduce kidney cancer risk because caffeine has a diuretic effect by blocking anti-diuretic hormone and antioxidants in

Cancer survival

Few studies have explored the possible effect of coffee consumption on people who are living with a diagnostic of cancer. A particular emphasis has been placed on the condition of liver cancer survivors. A study of 46,399 men and 64,289 women aged 40–79 years who took part in the Japan collaborative Cohort study for Evaluation of cancer Risk observed that increasing coffee consumption was associated with a statistically significant 50% reduction in HCC mortality [69]. Tverdal and Skurtveit [70]

Conclusion

Coffee is a widely consumed beverage worldwide and there is substantial evidence from both laboratory and animal studies for its favorable influence on the risk of cancer. Although caution is still needed because the method of coffee preparation, such as whether it is filtered or boiled, and the type of coffee beans can change considerably with time and vary geographically and because a variety of food items are incorporated to coffee in various amounts, a growing body of evidence from

Acknowledgements

Dr. Nkondjock acknowledges support from the Cameroonian Minister Delegate at the Presidency, in Charge of Defense.

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