Study reveals coffee consumption may slow disease progression and increase life expectancy of colorectal cancer patients

While drinking coffee might simply be an early morning ritual for many, the beverage is known to have many health benefits other than giving you an energy boost. Various studies reveal that coffee can improve your metabolism, reduce inflammation in the body and also act as a protective agent for your liver. Recently, scientists discovered that coffee has the potential to prevent the spread of colorectal cancer in the body as well. Colorectal cancer and coffee Colorectal cancer is a type of cancer that can affect either the colon (part of the large intestine) or rectum or sometimes both. According to data provided by the World Cancer Research fund in 2018, colorectal cancer was the third most common cancer in the world, with 1.8 million new cases in the year 2018. It is mostly treated with chemotherapy but it has about 14 percent chance of metastasizing. Metastatic cancer is cancer that spreads from its site of origin to another part of the body. The study published in the journal JAMA Nutrition on 17th September 2020, stated that consumption of coffee can restrict the spread of metastatic colorectal cancer in the body. The scientists from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, US, included 1,171 patients who were treated for metastatic colorectal cancer and were already enrolled in Cancer and Leukemia Group B (Alliance)/SWOG 80405 clinical trials. The patients were asked to report their dietary intake along with their frequency of coffee consumption from 2005 to 2018. The scientists also took the type of diet and exercising routine of the patients into account. Result of the study The results of the study showed that patients who consumed more coffee had a higher rate of survival. The findings detailed that people who consumed a single cup of coffee every day survived for 30 months after the diagnosis was made. However, the ones who consumed two or three cups of coffee daily survived for 32 months and the ones who consumed four or more cups a day survived for up to 39 months. The results also showed that people who consumed four or more cups of coffee daily showed a slower progression of the disease as compared to those who consumed two to three cups per day. Conclusion  The scientists concluded that though coffee consumption has been associated with better outcomes of metastatic colorectal cancer, people must not increase their coffee consumption on the basis of this study. They further added that with this study, it can be concluded that drinking coffee is safe for the patients of colorectal cancer as it does not result in the progression of cancer. For more information, read our article on  Colorectal cancer. Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, India’s first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health.