Coffee May Lower Women’s Cancer Risk

Coffee has been reported by previous studies to lower levels of estrogen and insulin, two hormones implicated in endometrial cancer.  Youjin Je, from Harvard School of Public Health (Massachusetts, USA), and colleagues analyzed data collected on 67,470 women, ages 34 to 59 years, enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study.  The team used food surveys to group study participants by the amount of coffee drank daily, and tracked the subjects for 26 years for the onset  of endometrial cancer.  Women who drank at least four cups of coffee daily had a 25% lower risk of endometrial cancer, as compared with women who consumed less.  The reduction in relative risk increased to 30%, as compared with women who consumed one cup or less of coffee daily.  The apparent benefit was limited to regular (caffeinated) coffee, absent of added sugar and cream.