A daily cup of coffee has been revealed as the latest weapon in the battle against prostate cancer – the most common form of cancer in men, with 35,000 diagnoses and 10,000 deaths a year.
A new study from the Harvard Medical School in America found those who regularly drank the beverage were 60 per cent less likely to develop fast-growing, hard-to-treat forms of the cancer, than others.
Cancer charities and experts urged caution, saying more research was needed and lifestyle factors played a bigger role. So what is proven to protect against the disease?
Q. Can coffee prevent prostate cancer?
A. It certainly looks as if it may help. The study from the US followed patients over a 20-year period, and showed those who drank coffee were less likely to develop the cancer. It is still unclear which component of the coffee is responsible, although it is not thought to be caffeine. The trial followed 50,000 men; that is not a huge number for a scientific trial, so more studies are needed to substantiate the results.
Q. Should I start to increase my intake of coffee?
A. Drinking more coffee would not be advisable, not least because of the side effects of drinking too much caffeine.
December 14, 2009
