Patients with colon cancer, who drink on a regular basis caffeinated coffee might be lowering their risk of recurrence in tumors and deaths, suggest new research. Those who consumed two to three cups of coffee every day were having modest benefit and with one cup or less, there was even less protection.
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“We found that coffee drinkers had a lower risk of the cancer coming back and a significantly greater survival and chance of a cure”, said Charles Fuchs, director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Centre at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
Researchers said that from 2 cups per day and up, the risk for cancer recurrence was reduced and was lowered more when drinkers reached 4 cups per day.
The study, which has been published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, has observed and followed about 953 stage 3 colon cancer patients who have undergone chemotherapy and surgery, The New York Times reports.
‘If you are a coffee drinker and are being treated for colon cancer, don’t stop.
All the patients had stage III bowel cancer, meaning the disease had spread as far as the lymph nodes near the original tumour.
The doctor strongly advises coffee drinkers who are going through colon cancer treatment to continue their coffee consumption.
The study of 1,000 patients was the first to examine an association between caffeinated coffee and risk of colon cancer recurrence. Despite the results, he was cautious about recommending coffee to patients.
However, Dr. Fuchs is not entirely convinced that experts should start advising their patients to increase their intake of coffee as this is the first study to dabble on the matter, Medical Daily adds.
Coffee has often been linked to the treatment of other types of cancer such as melanoma, liver cancer, prostate cancer or breast cancer.
Dr. Alok Khorana of the Cleveland Clinic says the role coffee plays needs more study.
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It was finally pointed out that coffee wasn’t harmful for sufferers of different types of cancer and Dr. Fuchs concluded that healthy lifestyle choices are more than beneficial, these including the avoidance of sugary beverages, maintaining a healthy weight, and avoiding a high-carb diet.
