Coffee cuts breast cancer risk? Not so fast

Ever read about new research and think "That seems too good to be true?" That's what went through my mind this week when I read a press release declaring: "Coffee reduces breast cancer risk." Fantastic news. Unfortunately, the research doesn't back up this bold claim.

What role coffee drinking might play in a woman's risk of breast cancer has long puzzled researchers. Some chemicals in coffee might promote cancer cell growth, while others?such as antioxidants?may help prevent it. Studies looking at coffee drinkers have shown conflicting results, finding either a higher or lower risk of breast cancer, or no difference in risk at all.

One explanation for these inconsistent findings might be that coffee affects the risk of only certain types of breast cancer. This was the basic premise explored in the new study.

The researchers looked at two main subtypes of breast cancer: those that respond to the hormone estrogen (estrogen receptor-positive cancers) and those that don't (estrogen receptor-negative cancers). They gathered data on nearly 6,000 women in Sweden who had gone through menopause, about half of whom had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. All the woman were asked about their coffee drinking habits, as well as other aspects of their lifestyle.

The researchers found that women who drank five or more cups of coffee a day had around the same overall breast cancer risk as those who drank little or no coffee.

But the findings changed when researchers looked separately at the risk of estrogen receptor-negative cancers. After taking into account the women's ages, how much they exercised, and other risk factors for breast cancer, they found that women who drank five or more cups a day were 57 percent less likely to have estrogen receptor-negative cancers than those who drank coffee rarely. Striking results.

To test these findings, the researchers then reviewed data from a similar, bigger study of German women. And, by doing so, they cast doubt on their own research.
In the German study, heavy coffee-drinking was also linked to a lower risk of estrogen receptor-negative cancers. However, the difference in risk was so small that it could have been due to chance.

The researchers suggest that these different results may be related to variations in the types of coffee consumed in Sweden and Germany. However, this is only a theory and there's no evidence to support it.

What we do know is that this study's findings are based on observational data, which can't prove that drinking a lot of coffee has an effect on a woman's chances of getting breast cancer. The researchers have shown there may be a link with one type of cancer?but that is not strongly backed up by other research.

Bottom line. Studies may one day show that coffee has a protective effect for some types of breast cancer. But we're not there yet. Still, that's no reason to enjoy your daily cup (or cups) of coffee any less.

Source
Coffee consumption modifies risk of estrogen-receptor negative breast cancer [Breast Cancer Research]

?Sophie Ramsey, BMJ Group

ConsumerReportsHealth.org has partnered with The BMJ Group to monitor the latest medical research and assess the evidence to help you decide which news you should use.

Source: http://news.consumerreports.org/health/2011/05/coffee-cuts-breast-cancer-risk-not-so-fast.html

jillian michaels new orleans hornets backstreet boys vancouver canucks jay cutler