Erikka Loftfield, MPH, of the National Cancer Institute, and her colleagues tracked the coffee consumption of 447 357 non-Hispanic whites for 10 years to verify its link to melanoma risk.
Compared with non-coffee drinkers, those who drank four or more cups of caffeinated coffee per day had a statistically significant 20 percent lower risk of malignant melanoma. Decaffeinated coffee wasn’t linked to a lower risk of the disease.
The study was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, and was funded in part by the Yale–National Cancer Institute and by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute.
Researchers warn that the results require replication and state:
“Whether our findings are applicable to other populations is unclear. Because of its high disease burden, lifestyle modifications with even modest protective effects may have a meaningful impact on melanoma morbidity. Additional investigations of coffee intake and its constituents, particularly caffeine, in the prevention of melanoma are warranted.”
Previous research has shown that drinking coffee also lowers the risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer.
Coffee contains many beneficial compounds that fight cancer, such as polyphenols and caffeine. Caffeine has been shown to inhibit UVB-induced carcinogenesis in animals, and to enhance apoptosis of skin cancer.
Although more research is required to confirm coffee’s effects against melanoma, it does have several proven anti-cancer effects, and we have yet another reason to enjoy another cup of coffee.
