Coffee helps prevent basal cell carcinoma

Joe Elvin

25/10/2011 16:21:43

Drinking coffee may help prevent the most common kind of skin cancer, according to a new study.

A team of researchers from Harvard Medical School have claimed that women who drink an average of three cups a day have a 20 per cent lower chance of developing basal cell carcinoma than those who drink less than one cup a month. Men were found to have a nine per cent lower risk.

The results of the study would appear to provide more compelling reasons to invest in a coffee machine for the home.

The scientists came to their conclusion by studying the coffee consumption and health records of more than 100,000 people over a 24-year period.

Although they were unsure exactly how coffee creates this preventative effect, it was discovered that decaffeinated coffee had no such effects on the risks of skin cancer.

Speaking to the LA Times, co-author Fengju Song said: “Daily dietary factors with even small protective effects may have great public health impact (sic). Our study indicates that coffee consumption may be an important option to help prevent basal cell carcinoma.”

Although a cup of joe appears to have no effect on the risks of the most deadly skin cancer, melanoma, Msnbc.com reports that the group will soon get to work on attempting to discover how coffee helps to prevent certain cancers but not others.