In a landmark study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the others compared the incidence of colon cancer recurrence and coffee intake in close to 1,000 patients.
During and after chemotherapy, the studied patients reported their dietary intake of caffeinated coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and nonherbal tea, as well as 128 other items. We examined the influence of coffee, nonherbal tea, and caffeine on cancer recurrence and mortality.
The authors found that patients consuming 4 cups per day or more of caffeinated coffee experienced significantly reduced cancer recurrence or mortality risk compared with abstainers and increasing caffeine intake also conferred a significant reduction in cancer recurrence or mortality. Nonherbal tea and decaffeinated coffee were not associated with patient outcome. The association of total coffee intake with improved outcomes seemed consistent across other predictors of cancer recurrence and mortality.
Conclusion: Higher coffee intake may be associated with significantly reduced cancer recurrence and death in patients with stage III colon cancer.
