Being hit with breast cancer is a devastating experience for any woman. Good news for survivors of breast cancer is that drinking coffee may offer protection against recurrence of breast cancer. It has been reported by Lund University, that research studies have shown that coffee can help to protect against breast cancer.
In a new study led by researchers at Lund University it has been confirmed that coffee inhibits the growth of tumors and decreases the risk of recurrence in women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and who have been treated with the drug tamoxifen. Researchers Ann Rosendahl and Helena Jernström said in this study among the greater than 500 women treated with tamoxifen, those who had drunk at least two cups of coffee daily had only half the risk of recurrence of those women who drank less coffee or no coffee at all.
Furthermore, in this study those women who drank at least two cups of coffee daily had smaller tumors and a lower proportion of tumors which were hormone-dependent. The researchers in this study looked carefully at two substances which are generally in the coffee which is drunk in Sweden, caffeine and caffeic acid. It was observed that breast cancer cells reacted to these substances, particularly caffeine, with decreased cell division and increased cell death, particularly in combination with tamoxifen.
This study has been published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. It was concluded by this research that clinical and experimental findings show anticancer properties of caffeine and caffeic acid against both ER+ and ER− breast cancer which may sensitize tumor cells to tamoxifen and decrease breast cancer growth.
The researchers said they have successfully demonstrated both in breast cancer patients and at a cellular level that coffee appears to reinforce the effect of breast cancer treatment with tamoxifen. The researchers are excited about this finding of the cancer fighting properties of coffee but have cautioned that it remains important to keep taking prescribed medication to help fight the breast cancer.
