Exclusive: Scientists say people with disease who drink two to four cups a day are less likely to see it return

Exclusive: Scientists say people with disease who drink two to four cups a day are less likely to see it return

People with bowel cancer who drink two to four cups of coffee a day are much less likely to see their disease come back, research has found.

People with the illness who consume that amount are also much less likely to die from any cause, the study shows, which suggests coffee helps those diagnosed with the UK’s second biggest cancer killer.

Experts said the findings were “promising” and speculated that, if other studies show the same effect, the 43,000 Britons a year diagnosed with bowel cancer may be encouraged to drink coffee. The disease claims about 16,500 lives a year – 45 a day.

A study of 1,719 bowel cancer patients in the Netherlands by Dutch and British researchers found that those who drank at least two cups of coffee had a lower risk of the disease recurring. The effect was dose dependent – those who drank the most saw their risk fall the most.

Patients who had at least five cups a day were 32% less likely than those who drank fewer than two cups to see their bowel cancer return, according to the paper, which was funded by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and has been published in the International Journal of Cancer.

    • QuarterSwede@lemmy.world
      19·
      9 months ago

      Not far from the possible truth. Coffee drinkers are more likely to have regular bowel movements so that would help. 20% of all people have a bowel response thanks to coffee.

    • cholesterol@lemmy.worldEnglish
      15·
      9 months ago

      Despite its reputation, coffee is continually correlated with health benefits in statistical studies. This is not something made up by news agencies. But honestly, I don’t get it either. I drink lots of coffee, but it can upset my stomach and give me the jitters. It just doesn’t intuitively seem like something that should be healthy.

    • mojo_raisin@lemmy.worldEnglish
      9·
      9 months ago

      Ya, I think the key lesson is: Don’t get your health information from the news, your health is not their goal.

      • Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz
        4·
        9 months ago

        Making money, by attracting attention is the primary goal. Spreading falsehood is just “business as usual”. Informing the public is a byproduct of the core business.

    • Shard@lemmy.world
      3·
      9 months ago

      I believe those earlier studies did not factor the cancer risk from consuming very hot beverages. Apparently the damage to the cells of your mouth and throat from getting cooked causes mutations that could develop into cancer.

  • Blackout@kbin.run
    30·
    9 months ago

    It’s widely known people who drink coffee also spend time each day meticulously cleaning their bowels. Simply a correlation.

  • Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz
    16·
    9 months ago

    Here’s the interesting bit.

    “The association between coffee consumption and all-cause mortality was U-shaped; coffee intake seemed optimal at 3–5 cups/d with the lowest risk at 4 cups/d (HR: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.53, 0.88). Our results suggest that coffee consumption may be associated with a lower risk of CRC recurrence and all-cause mortality.”

    Well, what exactly counts as a cup then?

    “Coffee consumption in cups/d was then calculated by multiplying the frequency of consumption per day by the number of cups that were consumed. We further accounted for the differences in the sizes of cups by multiplying coffee in cups/d by 1 (for cup) or 1.5 (for mug).“

    I guess the traditional 100 ml cups and the common 200 ml cups are all just cups, whereas 300 ml mug is clearly a mug. Who knows really, when the data is all self reported. I guess my 400 ml/d consumption should be roughly optimal.

  • watson387@sopuli.xyz
    6·
    9 months ago

    So while something is definitely going to kill me, it almost certainly won’t be recurring bowel cancer.

    • PapaStevesyEnglish
      6·
      9 months ago

      Yeah, you just have to survive it the first time.

  • dlpkl@lemmy.world
    11·
    9 months ago

    Here’s the problem, right. One of the signs of colon cancer is thin shits. Coffee causes thin shits. How tf do I know if my thin shits are from ass cancer or caffeine.

    • 9point6@lemmy.world
      111·
      9 months ago

      I’m very much in the several cups of coffee a day category

      Here I was thinking that was bad for me

      • Pretzilla@lemmy.world
        74·
        9 months ago

        There is plenty of bad in coffee. Benzene for example.

        The study only looks at a particular cancer.

        • ebits21@lemmy.caEnglish
          7·
          9 months ago

          Benzene is used to decaffeinate coffee… but it’s not in regular coffee is it?

          Edit: looking into it, just in trace amounts just like many other foods, which is perfectly safe.

          • Pretzilla@lemmy.world
            1·
            9 months ago

            IIRC fun fact there are 400 toxic compounds in coffee, 4000 in cigarettes.

            Perrier had a huge recall of bottled water for benzene, though there was less than in a cup of coffee.

            Trace amounts are tolerable, but IMO not for something that is consumed often.

        • sramder@lemmy.worldEnglish
          6·
          9 months ago

          They do actually mention a reduction in all cause mortality which seems pretty wild.