New research suggests that drinking just one cup of coffee each day may significantly reduce the risk of developing oral and esophageal cancers.
Dr Toru Naganuma and colleagues from the Department of Public Health and Forensic Medicine at the Tohoku University School of Medicine in Japan studied 47,625 people for 13 years to determine whether coffee offered protection against cancers of the mouth and esophagus. Results showed that people who drank one cup or more of coffee per day were 49% less likely to develop such cancers than people who did not drink coffee at all. Furthermore, the seemingly protective effect of coffee remained true even in participants who smoked tobacco and drank alcohol – both of which are risk factors for these types of cancer.
The authors concluded: “Coffee consumption was associated with a lower risk of oral, pharyngeal, and esophageal cancers, even in the group at high risk of these cancers.” However, they note that the best way to prevent such cancers is to stop smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol.
Naganuma T, Kuriyama S, Kakizaki M, et al. Coffee Consumption and the Risk of Oral, Pharyngeal, and Esophageal Cancers in Japan. American journal of Epidemiology. 2008;168:1425-1432. doi:10.1093/aje/kwn282
