Coffee cuts the risk of prostate cancer

It has been discovered that men who regularly drink coffee are at less risk of developing prostate cancer, a study has found.

For those that drank six or more cups of coffee a day their chances of developing any form of prostate cancer were reduced by 20 percent.

They also benefited from a 60 percent reduction in the chance of them developing the most aggressive form of the disease, which is the most common cancer among men.

However, some cancer charities say the evidence is unclear and they are advising people not to start drinking copious amounts of coffee in the hope of preventing prostate cancer.

48,000 male health professionals in the US were asked to keep a diary of their coffee intake every four years between 1986 and 2006.  

Over the 20 year period 5,035 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer and out of these 642 cases were fatal.

Researchers now believe that there could be some unknown compounds in coffee that protect against the disease.

The study showed no difference between the effects of caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee, suggesting caffeine in not the cause for the reduction in disease risk.

Although the most promising results came along with heavy coffee consumption, even a low consumption of the beverage (one to three cups a day) could lower the risk of prostate cancer.

Lead researcher Dr Kathryn Wilson, from the Boston Harvard School of Public Health, said: “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,” she added.