Could Coffee Prevent The Recurrence Of Breast Cancer?

Coffee is frequently in the news for its potential health benefits. Yet could it also reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence?

New findings published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research suggest that coffee helps to stop the growth of tumors and even reduces the risk of cancer recurrence in women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and treated with the drug tamoxifen.

"Now, unlike in the previous study, we have combined information about the patients' lifestyle and clinical data from 1090 breast cancer patients with studies on breast cancer cells. The study shows that among the over 500 women treated with tamoxifen, those who had drunk at least two cups of coffee a day had only half the risk of recurrence of those who drank less coffee or none at all," researchers Ann Rosendahl and Helena Jernström explained, in a news release.

During the study, researchers looked at two substances that are naturally occuring in the coffee that's drunk in Sweden, including caffeine and caffeic acid.

"The breast cancer cells reacted to these substances, especially caffeine, with reduced cell division and increased cell death, especially in combination with tamoxifen. This shows that these substances have an effect on the breast cancer cells and turn off signaling pathways that the cancer cells require to grow," researchers added.

The study demonstrated how both in breast cancer patients and at the cell level, coffee appears to help reinforce the effect of treatment with tamoxifen, emphasizing the importance of taking the prescribed medication.

"They are incredibly important, but if you like coffee and are also taking tamoxifen, there is no reason to stop drinking it. Just two cups a day is sufficient to make a difference," they concluded.

The findings were published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.