Four cups of coffee could cut women’s cancer risk

Drinking at least four cups of coffee a day could reduce a woman’s risk of developing endometrial cancer, scientists said yesterday.

The American study looked at the effect of coffee consumption on the health of a group of more than 67,000 women over the course of 26 years.

A total of 672 cases of the cancer, which affects the lining of the uterus, were reported over that time. Those who had drunk four or more cups of coffee a day were 25 per cent less likely to develop the cancer, while those who had two or three cups had a reduced risk of 7 per cent.

The women who drank two or more cups of decaffeinated coffee were 22 per cent less likely to develop endometrial cancer, according to the study, which was published in the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention journal.

Edward Giovannucci, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, said coffee could help against cancers associated with obesity, insulin and oestrogen, and that it has been shown to improve insulin resistance.

“Coffee has already been shown to be protective against diabetes due to its effect on insulin, so we hypothesised that we’d see a reduction in some cancers as well.”

The American Association for Cancer Research said it was likely that the antioxidant properties of coffee were the reason for the reduced risk of cancer.