Men who regularly drink coffee appear to have a lower risk of developing a lethal form of prostate cancer, according to a new study led by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers. What's more, the lower risk was evident among men who drank either regular or decaffeinated coffee. The study will be published May 17, 2011, in an online edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
"Few studies have specifically studied the association of coffee intake and the risk of lethal prostate cancer, the form of the disease that is the most critical to prevent. Our study is the largest to date to examine whether coffee could lower the risk of lethal prostate cancer," said senior author Lorelei Mucci, associate professor of epidemiology at HSPH. Lethal prostate cancer is cancer that causes death or spreads to the bones.
Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed form of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death among U.S. men, affecting one in six men during their lifetime. More than 2 million men in the U.S. and 16 million men worldwide are prostate cancer survivors.
"At present we lack an understanding of risk factors that can be changed or controlled to lower the risk of lethal prostate cancer. If our findings are validated, coffee could represent one modifiable factor that may lower the risk of developing the most harmful form of prostate cancer," said lead author Kathryn Wilson, a research fellow in epidemiology at HSPH.
The researchers chose to study coffee because it contains many beneficial compounds that act as antioxidants, reduce inflammation, and regulate insulin, all of which may influence prostate cancer. Coffee has been associated in prior studies with a lower risk of Parkinson's disease, type 2 diabetes, gallstone disease, and liver cancer or cirrhosis.
The study examined the association between coffee consumption and the risk of prostate cancer, particularly the risk for aggressive prostate cancer among 47,911 U.S. men in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study who reported their coffee consumption every four years from 1986 to 2008. During the study period, 5,035 cases of prostate cancer were reported, including 642 fatal or metastatic cases.
Among the findings:

• Men who consumed the most coffee (six or more cups daily) had nearly a 20% lower risk of developing any form of prostate cancer.
• The inverse association with coffee was even stronger for aggressive prostate cancer. Men who drank the most coffee had a 60% lower risk of developing lethal prostate cancer.
• The reduction in risk was seen whether the men drank decaffeinated or regular coffee, and does not appear to be due to caffeine.
• Even drinking one to three cups of coffee per day was associated with a 30% lower risk of lethal prostate cancer.
• Coffee drinkers were more likely to smoke and less likely to exercise, behaviors that may increase advanced prostate cancer risk. These and other lifestyle factors were controlled for in the study and coffee still was associated with a lower risk.

The results from this study need to be validated in additional populations that have a range of coffee exposure and a large number of lethal prostate cancer cases. If confirmed, the data would add to the list of other potential health benefits of coffee. The authors currently are planning additional studies to understand specific mechanisms by which coffee may specifically lower the risk of lethal prostate cancer.
Other HSPH researchers participating in the study include Edward Giovannucci and Meir Stampfer, professors of nutrition and epidemiology; Julie L. Kasperzyk, postdoctoral research fellow; Stacey Kenfield, research associate; Jennifer Stark, research fellow; and Rob van Dam, adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition.
The study was supported by the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health, the American Institute for Cancer Research, and the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
"Coffee Consumption and Prostate Cancer Risk and Progression in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study," Kathryn M. Wilson, Julie L. Kasperzyk, Jennifer R. Stark, Stacey Kenfield, Rob M. van Dam, Meir J. Stampfer, Edward Giovannucci, Lorelei A. Mucci, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, online May 17, 2011.

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- Jim
"Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you." �Carl Gustav Jung

The only issue I have is that you have to drink 6 or more cups daily to lower it only 20%. 6 cups of coffee I would assume would have more negative effects on my health than the 20% lower rate of prostate cancer.

And very detrimental to the adrenals, unless it is decaf.

Guys i have a question here,i used to drink like 5-10+ coffees a day,mostly canned coffees the cold ones filled with preservatives and chemicals and bliah

so i thought about quitting coffee and after a chat with my only doctor i can actually have a conversation with(plastic surgeon) he suggested that pure coffee,coffee beans for example is good to drink one or two daily,it helps with whatever...

So my question is should i drink 1-2 coffees a day or stop drinking coffee altogether?? if the question is yes drink a little,than what is considered a natural sweetener i can use in coffees?? i have stopped eating sugar completely so im not left with a choice im familiar with to make my coffee drinkable... :/

I used to drink as much coffee as you do and I come from a culture that espressos are handed out throughout the day. After dinner my family would ask, who wants coffee.

There's studies on benefits of coffee, but honestly they studies have minor benefits and you have to drink way more coffee than you would want to drink. I personally feel the negative outweighs the benefits. There's benefits in drinking dark beer, but the negative outweighs the benefits.

I've switched from coffee to green tea and I'm extremely happy I did and wished I would have done it years ago. Most hot green tea drinkers won't put anything that most coffee drinkers would like any milk, sugar or any of those things. If you get quality green tea it taste good by itself. If you get poor quality (bigelow/lipton), then you might need to and something to it.

I don't want to go on and on about green tea, but I no longer get jitters or bolts of energy like I used to when I drink a lot of coffee and then the crash. With green tea you get energy and I noticed I could concentrate better without any crashing. I sleep better now and over all I think it was a huge improvement to my health.

This board was one of the reasons I switched. I asked a question about taking vitamins with coffee and many people suggested getting off coffee and going with green tea and I'm so happy I listened.

If you want to stick with coffee, then stevia is a good natural sweetner. Just make sure you get one that doesn't add other stuff that's not good for you.