COFFEE PROTECT AGAINST MALIGNANT MELANOMA
Both epidemiological
and pre-clinical studies have suggested that coffee consumption has a
protective effect against non-melanoma skin cancers. However the protective
effect for cutaneous melanoma (malignant and in situ) is less clear, according
to a study published January 20 in the JNCI: Journal of the
National Cancer Institute.
To
determine if there is an association between coffee consumption and risk of
cutaneous melanoma, Erikka Loftfield, M.P.H., of the Division of Cancer
Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, and colleagues used data
from the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. Information on coffee consumption was
obtained from 447,357 non-Hispanic white subjects with a self-administered
food-frequency questionnaire in 1995/1996, with a median follow-up of 10 years.
All subjects included in the analysis were cancer-free at baseline, and the
authors adjusted for ambient residential ultraviolet radiation exposure, body
mass index, age, sex, physical activity, alcohol intake, and smoking history.
Overall,
the highest coffee intake was inversely associated with a risk of malignant
melanoma, with a 20% lower risk for those who consumed 4 cups per day or more.
There was also a trend toward more protection with higher intake, with the
protective effect increasing from 1 or fewer cups to 4 or more. However, the
effect was statistically significant for caffeinated but not decaffeinated
coffee and only for protection against malignant melanoma but not melanoma
in-situ, which may have a different etiology.
The
researchers point out that the results are preliminary and may not be
applicable to other populations, and therefore additional investigations of
coffee intake are needed. However, they conclude that "Because of its high
disease burden, lifestyle modifications with even modest protective effects may
have a meaningful impact on melanoma morbidity.
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