A study of almost 50,000 men found those who drank coffee were 60% less likely to develop the most aggressive form of prostate cancer than those who never drank the world’s most consumed beverage.
Researchers from Harvard Medical School and School of Public Health cautioned that it was too early to start recommending that male patients begin drinking coffee, but there was a big reduction in the deadliest tumors in people who consumed the greatest amount.
Dr Kathryn Wilson, who presented her findings to a cancer prevention conference in Houston, said: “Coffee has effects on insulin and glucose metabolism as well as sex hormone levels, all of which play a role in prostate cancer.
“It was plausible that there may be an association between coffee and prostate cancer.”
The effect was the same with caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee. The researchers are unsure which components of the drink are having the effect.
They documented the regular and decaffeinated coffee intake of the participants every four years from 1986 to 2006 during which time 4,975 of them developed prostate cancer.
Previous research has suggested tea could protect against prostate cancer but this is the first study to claim the same can be said for coffee.
Dr Wilson said: “Very few lifestyle factors have been consistently associated with prostate cancer risk, especially with risk of aggressive disease, so it would be very exciting if this association is confirmed in other studies.
“Our results do suggest there is no reason to stop drinking coffee out of any concern about prostate cancer.”
The study was presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference.
In another study presented at the conference, researchers from Harvard found that exercising for just 15 minutes a day can reduce the chances of dying in prostate cancer patients by around 35 per cent.
