BOSTON —A prospective study presented at the 10th American Association for Cancer Risk (AACR) International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 22 to Oct. 25, 2011, examined the risks of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and melanoma in connection with coffee consumption and found a decreased risk for BCC only. Study researchers found an inverse association between BCC risk and consumption of coffee may be related to caffeine.
Rresearcher Fengju Song, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the department of dermatology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, said: “Given the nearly one million new cases of BCC diagnosed each year in the United States, daily dietary factors with even small protective effects may have great public health impact. Our study indicates that coffee consumption may be an important option to help prevent BCC."
In the Nurses’ Health Study, 72,921 participants were followed from June 1984 to June 2008. In the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, 39,976 participants were followed from June 1986 to June 2008. The researchers reported 25,480 incident skin cancer cases. Of those, 22,786 were BCC, 1,953 were SCC, and 741 were melanoma.
Women who consumed more than three cups of coffee per day had a 20-percent reduction in risk for BCC, and men who consumed more than three cups per day had a 9-percent risk reduction compared with people who consumed less than one cup per month. The amount of coffee consumption was inversely associated with BCC risk. Those in the highest quintile had the lowest risk, with an 18 percent reduction for women and a 13 percent reduction for men.
“Mouse studies have shown oral or topical caffeine promotes elimination of UV-damaged keratinocytes via apoptosis (programmed cell death) and markedly reduces subsequent SCC development," Song said. “However, in our cohort analysis, we did not find any inverse association between coffee consumption and the risk for SCC."
Song said additional studies specifically addressing the association between coffee consumption and BCC and the mechanism behind this association are warranted.