Another health benefit of coffee! A study found that daily consumption of a few cups of coffee was associated with longer survival and a lower risk of cancer worsening in persons with metastatic colon cancer. These benefits held for both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee. This is a big deal because metastatic colon (colorectal) cancer only has a 5 year survival rate of 14%.
A group of researchers throughout the US found that in 1171 patients being treated for metastatic colorectal cancer, those who reported drinking 2 to 3 cups of coffee a day were more likely to live longer, and had a longer time before their disease worsened - as compared to people who didn't drink coffee. And those drinking more than 4 cups a day (either decaf or regular) had even greater benefits.
Coffee's benefits may be due to its ability to decrease blood insulin levels (it increases insulin sensitivity of tissues), as well as the chemical compounds in coffee having antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiangiogenic(anti-blood vessel growth in tumors) effects. It appears that many of the beneficial effects appear to be not from caffeine, but from the chemical compounds in coffee. [Note: avoid caffeinated coffee during pregnancy - then it is linked to health problems.]
By the way, there are many studies showing that colon cancer is linked to diet and lifestyle. Best is to eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes (beans, lentils). One especially eye-opening study compared the effects of an American high-fat, low fiber diet with a typical low-fat, high fiber diet of South Africa - and found dramatic changes in the colon (specifically in the colonic mucosa) from dietary changes in as little as 2 weeks. Their conclusion: Fiber feeds beneficial microbes in the gut, which results in beneficial changes in the gut (in the mucosa of the colon).
Excerpts from Medical Xpress: Coffee associated with improved survival in metastatic colorectal cancer patients
In a large group of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, consumption of a few cups of coffee a day was associated with longer survival and a lower risk of the cancer worsening, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and other organizations report in a new study.
The findings, based on data from a large observational study nested in a clinical trial, are in line with earlier studies showing a connection between regular coffee consumption and improved outcomes in patients with non-metastatic colorectal cancer. The study is being published today by JAMA Oncology.
The investigators found that in 1,171 patients treated for metastatic colorectal cancer, those who reported drinking two to three cups of coffee a day were likely to live longer overall, and had a longer time before their disease worsened, than those who didn't drink coffee. Participants who drank larger amounts of coffee—more than four cups a day—had an even greater benefit in these measures. The benefits held for both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee.
"It's known that several compounds in coffee have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and other properties that may be active against cancer," says Dana-Farber's Chen Yuan, ScD, the co-first author of the study with Christopher Mackintosh, MLA, of the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine. "Epidemiological studies have found that higher coffee intake was associated with improved survival in patients with stage 3 colon cancer, but the relationship between coffee consumption and survival in patients with metastatic forms of the disease hasn't been known."