Drinking Caffeinated Coffee May Reduce Risk for Skin Cancer

Drinking caffeinated coffee may reduce the risk for the most common form of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma (BCC), according to a recent study.

BCC accounts for nearly 90 percent of all skin cancers. Basal cells are cells that line the deepest layer of the epidermis (the outermost layer of the skin). An abnormal growth of cells in this deep layer is known as BCC. Although BCC can usually be diagnosed with a simple biopsy, has a low rate of metastasis and is fairly easy to treat when detected early, 5-10 percent of BCCs may be resistant to treatment. BCC may invade bone and cartilage, and if not treated appropriately and early, it may be very difficult to eliminate.

Caffeine is a naturally occurring compound found in the leaves, seeds or fruits of more than 60 plants, including coffee beans, cacao beans, kola nuts, guarana berries and tea leaves (including yerba mate and green tea). Caffeine is consumed regularly in the United States and throughout the world, as it is found in many beverages, including coffee, chocolate, some energy drinks and tea. Medicinally, caffeine may be useful as a cardiac stimulant and to increase urine flow. Caffeine has been shown to affect mood, stamina, the cerebral vascular system, and gastric and colonic activity.

In a new study, researchers analyzed data on 22,786 BCC cases, 1,953 squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cases and 741 melanoma cases from the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study to assess the potential relationship between skin cancer risk and caffeine consumption.

The researchers found that men and women with the highest daily caffeine intake from any source had a 13 percent and 18 percent reduced risk of BCC, respectively, when compared to those with the lowest intake. Furthermore, women who consumed more than three cups of caffeinated coffee daily had a 21 percent reduced risk of BCC when compared to those who drank less than one cup. Men who drank over three cups had a 10 percent reduced risk. The authors noted that significant associations between caffeine intake and SCC or melanoma were lacking.

The authors concluded that drinking caffeinated coffee may reduce the risk for developing BCC. Additional research is needed to further evaluate these findings.

For more information about integrative therapies for skin cancer, please visit Natural Standard's Comparative Effectiveness Database.

For more information about caffeine, please visit Natural Standard's Foods, Herbs & Supplements Database.

Comments

[bc]

I’m a coffee drinker so I think it is great that they are finding potential benefits for coffee. However, to make a strong case that caffeinated coffee may reduce risk of skin cancer makes me a big skeptical. I would like to read up on further studies that were done regarding this finding.

[kj]

I am somewhat skeptical to this. Skin cancer is one of the most preventable types of cancer. I think more research is needed on this to determine a true beneficial effect of caffeine and reduced skin cancer risk.

[nh]

I think that before everyone runs over to Starbucks to pick up 3 venti coffees, it should be noted that the amount of caffeine in 3 large cups of coffee is a significant amount, much higher than the daily recommended about of caffeine. While high volume consumption of caffeinated coffee may reduce squamous cell carcinoma, someone with sleep troubles such as insomnia, should avoid drinking so much caffeinated coffee, as it may worsen insomnia symptoms.

[nh]

I love that more and more research keeps coming out about the potential benefits that coffee might hold. I drink at least 4 cups of coffee per day. I believe I read recently that coffee decreases the risk of colon cancer so this report that it can decrease basal cell carcinoma is added benefit. Although BCC is not the most dangerous skin cancer anything that can prevent its risk is something that should be used. Hopefully, more research will come out to back this information up.

[NA]

I’d like to know more about the association between caffeine intake and a reduction in basal cell carcinoma. I thought it was interesting that caffeine is associated with a risk reduction in BCC, but not in SCC or melanoma. Given the percentage of decreased risk of BCC seen in the study, I wonder how much of a decreased risk caffeine would have, given a patient with multiple risk factors for developing BCC. I'm eager to hear about more studies in this area of research.

[AS]

Just looked at the comparative evidence grid for skin cancer and coffee gets a C. Also read a little through the monograph on NS and there is some interesting information regarding coffee and skin cancer, such as it may have properties like sunscreen when applied topically? That's awesome! I can't wait to see any other research that comes out. There are also numerous other uses for coffee as alternative medicine that I would have never thought of it. Loving NS as a resource more and more.

[anonymous]

I just used Natural Standard’s “Comparative Effectiveness” feature to look up other integrative therapies for skin cancer. There were a few specific to skin cancer that were given an evidence grade of C. These were Chlorella, Chuchuhuasi, Fermented wheat germ extract and Vitamin A. It’s wonderful how easy Natural Standard makes it to search the database and look up these alternatives. Now I can easily compare these therapies!

[LO]

What an interesting connecting. I am still a bit skeptical about the claims that the study is making. Natural Standard did a good job of giving the facts, summarizing the study, and making the statement that drinking caffeinated coffee MAY reduce the risk for developing BCC, indicating that more research needs to be completed.

I clicked on the study and found that the authors of the trial titled it "Increased caffeine intake is associated with reduced risk of Basal cell carcinoma of the skin." Quite a bold statement. I am interested to see more studies coming out on this topic!

[ronak]

This is an amazing blog! As a dark skinned citizen, I rarely ever wear sunscreen, because I have never gotten sunburned. However, the idea of getting skin cancer always lingers in the back of my mind. On the flip side, I drink coffee almost daily. It is interesting how the researchers ever thought of that correlation, and that correlation may actually works! Overall, though sunscreen is still the better option to protect our skin from sun!

[LindaB]

This article was so interesting that I decided to look at the Effectiveness Comparison table in the NS website, and and found dozens of modalities that have an equal or better grade than coffee for cancer...it is nice to have access to all unbiased information at my fingertips.

[MK]

This association seems interesting to me. I wonder if the potential benefits from drinking coffee in a person who is high risk for BCC outweigh the negative impacts of drinking coffee daily. This article points out that 3 cups of coffee made a significant difference, that’s a lot of coffee! It would be really interesting to see further data on this correlation.

[SL]

What an interesting link between the coffee and BCC. It’s wonderful that a lot of individual’s regular morning coffee ritual may be benefitting them in more ways than they realize! However, it is important to keep in mind that proper skin protection is always necessary, regardless of coffee consumption. Wearing protective hats and clothing, regularly applying and reapplying broad spectrum sunscreens, and avoiding the sun between the hours of 10am and 2pm are all beneficial safety measures we should all consider adapting.

[Jessica Lynch]

I think this information is interesting, especially given the relatively recent dramatic increase in the number of coffee shops (it seems like there is a Starbucks popping up on every corner). The study focuses on BCC, since there were 22,786 BCC cases. The authors state there is not enough information to determine an inverse correlation between SCC and melanoma , but there were significantly fewer cases studies (1,953 and 741 cases respectively). I would like to see research done on why caffeine would be beneficial against one type of skin cancer but not another.

[CP]

There is also some good evidence to suggest that coffee may help Parkinson patients' mobility. This includes improvements in speed of movement and stiffness. People with hypertension or hyperlipidemia should consult their doctor before drinking coffee, but in light of the beneficial indications from various studies, coffee may be a nice additional to one's diet. The sugar may be a different story...

[AS]

This is an interesting blog. I am very careful when it comes to skin care, unlike many other people my age since I have a family history of skin cancer. So to think that my daily cup (or 3) of coffee could be helping me out is great. There was another article recently in the LA Times about scientists discovering fish in Australia with skin cancer, which I think makes it more apparent how careful we need to be when enjoying our time out in the sun. I will definitely be heading to check out the comparative evidence table for CAM therapies and skin cancer next though.

[ams]

While I love hearing about new associations that can be made between health benefits and foods/substances that many people enjoy and readily consume, it makes me nervous at the same time. There are many people that hear a potential positive outcome from a substance, say caffeine, and have a "more must be better" mentality.

It's important that consumers consider as many of the potential results of consumption of a particular substance as possible. Ingesting large amounts of caffeine may be associated with negative risk for BCC, but it's also a stimulant and can increase heart rate, blood pressure, and result in tremors or feelings of anxiety.

But that's one of the great things about Natural Standard! They lay out all of the information so that consumers can make informed decisions and hopefully receive great benefits from what they eat/drink/etc while avoiding as many risks as possible.

[Charles]

It is great to hear that there are some really positive benefits of drinking coffee. I've heard before that coffee is the country's greatest source of antioxidants, and maybe antioxidant levels are connected to reduced cancer risk. Either way, it's great that the research community is dedicating time to dietary supplement research.

[SMK]

This is good news for me! I love my morning coffee, afternoon coffee, and evening coffee! I will have to read the study for more detail.

[Scooby]

This is fantastic!!! I drink enough caffeine for two, and even though there are some negative risks associated with excess caffeine consumption, it is good to see that there may be some benefit as well besides just stimulation and increased mental altert"ness". With that said however, I do agree that there still should be further studies performed to identify if this is a true clinically significant correlation or just a coincidence and a confounder.

What is also interesting is how the correlation had a larger impact on women, then men. The relative risk for men "trended" toward significance due to its confidence interval crossing 1. So it would be interesting to know if there is/was some other factor, especially for women, and specifically for those women in the study, that gave them a "leg up".

[LindaB]

CHD, good idea! I'm also going to review the study. It is great that Natural Standard posted the link for our convenience. It is important to remember that the design of this study will only show an association, rather than causation. Also, people who consume the copious amounts of coffee that were mentioned are probably not out in the sun as often as people who don't. Happy reading!

[GG]

This is great news for those of us who love our coffee! It would be very interesting to learn if the BCC incidence is lower purely because of the consumption of caffeine or if the "active" ingredient here is another component of the coffee. Its also possible some combination of the two cause this effect. Either way, I'm so glad to hear that my morning cup could be helping be lower my risk of skin cancer!

[UP]

While this is an interesting find, I think more research needs to be conducted. It would not be good for patients with heart conditions to start consuming high amounts of caffeinated coffee just to reduce the risk of basal cell carcinoma. It is fascinating to see the percent reduced risk though. Can’t wait to see more studies.

[E]

A 21% decrease! That's a very surprising statistic! I hope researchers will be able to run with this data to garner more information in this area. After reviewing Natural Standard's monograph for caffeine, I'll definitely be indulging in a daily cup (and now, maybe 3!).

[CHD]

I love coffee with lots of cream, sugar, and flavoring. I have to wonder if that would counter any of the health benefits from caffeinated coffee due the fat and calorie load. According the professional monograph for caffeine in the Natural Standard Food, Herb, and Supplement database, caffeine is also gets an evidence grade A for apnea, cognitive and exercise improvement, and respiratory disorders. It sounds like it might be adding certain skin cancers to its resume.

[CC]

I saw this article on the Natural Standard Facebook page recently. I am a little bit skeptical of the results of this study. I clicked on the link in this blog and found a free full text version of this study, which I plan to review. I hope that people remember that drinking high levels of caffeine has negative side effects and that caffeine doesn’t have good evidence for use in skin cancer. According to the caffeine monograph, it received an evidence grade of C for both cancer and skin conditions. More studies need to be done on this topic.

[PCO]

This is an interesting blog. There’s a lot of factor that one has to take into account when talking about skin cancer. I’m curious to find out what their inclusion and exclusion criterias are (I only have access to the abstract). Obviously if more study subjects sunbathe in the group that drank less caffeinated beverages then the results would not accurately reflect the conclusion the authors have drawn from this study.