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Drinking coffee may improve survival for patients with colon cancer
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Drinking four or more cups of coffee on a daily basis may prevent colon cancer recurrence and death, according to prospective study results.
“We found that coffee drinkers had a lower risk of the cancer coming back and significantly greater survival and chance of a cure,” Charles Fuchs, MD, MPH, director of the gastrointestinal cancer center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute said in a press release.
Charles Fuchs
Observational studies have indicated colon cancer recurrence occurs more frequently among patients with a sedentary lifestyle, who are obese, and who have increased dietary glycemic load. However, coffee consumption has been linked to a lower risk for type 2 diabetes and increased insulin sensitivity.
Fuchs and colleagues sought to examine the association between coffee intake and cancer recurrence among 953 patients with stage III colon cancer enrolled in a randomized trial of adjuvant chemotherapy. All patients prospectively reported their intake of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, non-herbal tea and 128 other food-related items during and 6 months after adjuvant chemotherapy.
DFS — defined as the time between the completion of the first questionnaire and tumor recurrence, occurrence of a new primary tumor or death — served as the study’s primary endpoint. Secondary endpoints included OS and RFS.
Median follow-up from the completion of the first questionnaire was 7.3 years.
The data indicated that patients who drank four or more cups of coffee per day were 42% less likely to recur than patients who did not drink coffee (HR = 0.58; 95% CI, 0.34-0.99). Additionally, those who drank four or more cups of coffee had a 52% reduction in their risk for colon cancer recurrence and mortality than non-coffee drinkers (HR = 0.48; 95% CI, 0.25-0.91).
Patients who increased their caffeine intake also had a significant reduction in their risk for recurrence and mortality (HR = 0.66 across extreme quintiles; 95% CI, 0.47-0.93). These findings persisted when researchers adjusted for sugar-sweetened beverage intake and glycemic load.
Decaffeinated coffee and non-herbal tea did not appear to impact the risk for colon cancer recurrence or mortality.
The association between coffee intake and better outcomes was consistent across different patient, disease and treatment characteristics.
These effects may be linked to an increased sensitivity to insulin with more caffeine, which may reduce inflammation, a risk factor for both colon cancer and diabetes, according to the researchers.
“If you are a coffee drinker and are being treated for colon cancer don’t stop,” Fuchs said in the release. “But if you are not a coffee drinker and wondering whether to start, you should first discuss it with your physician.” – by Anthony SanFilippo
Disclosure: The study was funded by NCI and Pfizer Oncology. Please see the full study for a list of all other researchers’ relevant financial disclosures.
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