Coffee may lower breast cancer risk for some women

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Women with BRCA1 gene
mutations, which confer a high risk of developing breast
cancer, might decrease their risk by drinking a lot of coffee,
according to a multicenter team of investigators.

Dr. Steven A. Narod, of the University of Toronto, Ontario,
and colleagues examined the association between coffee
consumption and the risk of breast cancer among 1690 high-risk
women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.

The study included women from 40 clinical centers in four
countries. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess
the average lifetime coffee consumption.

The likelihood of developing breast cancer among BRCA
mutation carriers who drank 1 to 3 cups of coffee daily, 4 to 5
cups, or 6 or more cups was reduced by 10 percent, 25 percent
and 69 percent, respectively, compared to those who drank no
coffee, according to the report in the International Journal of
Cancer.

When the investigators classified the women by mutation
status, they found significant protection from coffee for women
with a BRCA1 mutation, but not for carriers of a BRCA2
mutation.

The investigators note that coffee is an important source
of phytoestrogens, which may have protective effects.

“The mechanism by which phytoestrogens may beneficially
influence the risk of breast cancer has predominantly been
attributed to their structural similarity to endogenous
estrogens and their ability to bind to estrogen receptors,”
Narod and colleagues explain.

SOURCE: International Journal of Cancer, January 2006.