In a study published in the latest issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, it was found that a regular consumption of coffee is associated with a lower risk of contracting colorectal cancer.
The coffee has been proposed as a protective agent against colorectal cancer because many of its components affect the physiology of the colon. These compounds include caffeine, melanoidins, diterpenes, and polyphenols. The protection may arise from changes created the microbiota, the antioxidant effects, by antimutagenic effects, from reduced secretion of bile acids, and the improved bowel functions, such as motility and absorption capacity.
This protective effect of coffee has been developed by “University of Southern California”, Los Angeles: the researchers administered a food frequency questionnaire in 5145 cases and 4097 controls of patients included in a study on colon cancer (MECC).
The researchers considered the type of coffee (caffeinated or decaffeinated, boiled black coffee, black espresso coffee, instant coffee, and filtered coffee) and cancer site (colon and rectum).
The higher coffee consumption was associated with a lower chance of developing cancer of the colon and rectum, with a dose-response relationship statistically significant for cancers of the colon and rectum.
The cases than controls were slightly younger and less likely to take statins or aspirin at low doses, smoking, being physically active, and eating five or more servings of vegetables a day. The cases have also reported a strong family history of colorectal cancer.
The new results are applied to the benefit played by small doses of coffee a day compared to previous investigations. Other studies have linked coffee consumption with a decreased risk of recurrence of colon cancer, and a previous meta-analysis is associated with coffee consumption with the risk of colorectal cancer dropped.