Women who’ve been successfully treated for breast cancer are far less likely to see a recurrence if they drink two or more cups of coffee a day, researchers say this week.
Coffee seems to boost the effects of the common cancer drug, Tamoxifen, and women who drink it are only half as likely to see the cancer return as women who take the drug on its own.
Researchers from Lund University in Sweden reckon that coffee ‘activates’ Tamoxifen, a hormone therapy that’s often prescribed following breast cancer surgery.
They followed 600 breast cancer patients for an average of five years, and half of these were taking Tamoxifen. Those who were drinking two or more cups of coffee a day had less than half the rate of recurrence compared to non-coffee drinkers.
It’s not the first time the Lund researchers have seen the positive effects of coffee on cancer. It’s also reduced the risk of developing breast cancer, earlier studies have found, and caffeine seems to hamper the growth of cancer cells.
(Source: Cancer Causes & Control, 2013; 24: 929).
