Exclusive: Scientists say people with disease who drink two to four cups a day are less likely to see it return

People with bowel cancer who drink two to four cups of coffee a day are much less likely to see their disease come back, research has found.

People with the illness who consume that amount are also much less likely to die from any cause, the study shows, which suggests coffee helps those diagnosed with the UK’s second biggest cancer killer.

Experts said the findings were “promising” and speculated that, if other studies show the same effect, the 43,000 Britons a year diagnosed with bowel cancer may be encouraged to drink coffee. The disease claims about 16,500 lives a year – 45 a day.

A study of 1,719 bowel cancer patients in the Netherlands by Dutch and British researchers found that those who drank at least two cups of coffee had a lower risk of the disease recurring. The effect was dose dependent – those who drank the most saw their risk fall the most.

Patients who had at least five cups a day were 32% less likely than those who drank fewer than two cups to see their bowel cancer return, according to the paper, which was funded by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and has been published in the International Journal of Cancer.

    • QuarterSwede
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      19
      ·
      1 year ago

      Not far from the possible truth. Coffee drinkers are more likely to have regular bowel movements so that would help. 20% of all people have a bowel response thanks to coffee.

  • SteefLem
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    45
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    1 year ago

    Ok now im waiting for the “other” study that says coffee causes cancer….

    • cholesterol
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      15
      ·
      1 year ago

      Despite its reputation, coffee is continually correlated with health benefits in statistical studies. This is not something made up by news agencies. But honestly, I don’t get it either. I drink lots of coffee, but it can upset my stomach and give me the jitters. It just doesn’t intuitively seem like something that should be healthy.

        • 𓅂𓄿@c.im
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          @John_McMurray @cholesterol L-theanine is very inexpensive, it’s just an amino acid found in tea which eases jitters. Caffeine itself is good for exercise it’s straight-up healthy if you can get to sleep haha

        • iopq
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          1 year ago

          It’s a similar amount of caffeine

            • iopq
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              5
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              1 year ago

              Source: trust me bro

              • John_McMurray
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                1
                arrow-down
                4
                ·
                1 year ago

                I’m sorry you either don’t drink coffee or are caffeine immune. Anecdotal isn’t a euphemism for worthless.

                • iopq
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  4
                  arrow-down
                  2
                  ·
                  1 year ago

                  You can literally measure the amount of caffeine, why should I listen to your opinion?

    • mojo_raisin
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      1 year ago

      Ya, I think the key lesson is: Don’t get your health information from the news, your health is not their goal.

      • Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        1 year ago

        Making money, by attracting attention is the primary goal. Spreading falsehood is just “business as usual”. Informing the public is a byproduct of the core business.

    • Shard
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      I believe those earlier studies did not factor the cancer risk from consuming very hot beverages. Apparently the damage to the cells of your mouth and throat from getting cooked causes mutations that could develop into cancer.

  • Blackout@kbin.run
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    30
    ·
    1 year ago

    It’s widely known people who drink coffee also spend time each day meticulously cleaning their bowels. Simply a correlation.

  • Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    16
    ·
    1 year ago

    Here’s the interesting bit.

    “The association between coffee consumption and all-cause mortality was U-shaped; coffee intake seemed optimal at 3–5 cups/d with the lowest risk at 4 cups/d (HR: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.53, 0.88). Our results suggest that coffee consumption may be associated with a lower risk of CRC recurrence and all-cause mortality.”

    Well, what exactly counts as a cup then?

    “Coffee consumption in cups/d was then calculated by multiplying the frequency of consumption per day by the number of cups that were consumed. We further accounted for the differences in the sizes of cups by multiplying coffee in cups/d by 1 (for cup) or 1.5 (for mug).“

    I guess the traditional 100 ml cups and the common 200 ml cups are all just cups, whereas 300 ml mug is clearly a mug. Who knows really, when the data is all self reported. I guess my 400 ml/d consumption should be roughly optimal.

      • Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        1 year ago

        So, if I use espresso cups or even dollhouse cups, I can easily hit that optimal cup number with a very small amount of coffee. 😁

        • Blaat1234
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          1 year ago

          A double espresso from 16g of beans is less than 40ml and stronger than a bigger lungo from a nespresso pod (~7g coffee).

          Smaller cups tend to be stronger. That same double espresso with 130g ice and 100ml milk and blend until ice is crushed makes a pretty strong frappuccino.

          From espresso to lungo / americano to Starbucks recreations, they all basically use the same dose but wildly varying cup size.

          Cup to mug of the same strength filter coffee makes a difference though.

  • watson387@sopuli.xyz
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    1 year ago

    So while something is definitely going to kill me, it almost certainly won’t be recurring bowel cancer.

  • dlpkl
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    Here’s the problem, right. One of the signs of colon cancer is thin shits. Coffee causes thin shits. How tf do I know if my thin shits are from ass cancer or caffeine.

  • Cossty
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    arrow-down
    18
    ·
    1 year ago

    This is wierd.

    2-5 cups a day? I drink maybe one cup a year.

      • Cossty
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        I mean, that it is wierd that coffee is supposed to prevent cancer. Maybe I should have worded that differently.

    • 9point6
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      11
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      I’m very much in the several cups of coffee a day category

      Here I was thinking that was bad for me

      • ickplant
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        1 year ago

        Your anxiety may be high, but at least your ass is safe.

      • Pretzilla
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        7
        arrow-down
        4
        ·
        1 year ago

        There is plenty of bad in coffee. Benzene for example.

        The study only looks at a particular cancer.

        • ebits21@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          7
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          Benzene is used to decaffeinate coffee… but it’s not in regular coffee is it?

          Edit: looking into it, just in trace amounts just like many other foods, which is perfectly safe.

          • Pretzilla
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            edit-2
            1 year ago

            IIRC fun fact there are 400 toxic compounds in coffee, 4000 in cigarettes.

            Perrier had a huge recall of bottled water for benzene, though there was less than in a cup of coffee.

            Trace amounts are tolerable, but IMO not for something that is consumed often.

        • sramder
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          6
          ·
          1 year ago

          They do actually mention a reduction in all cause mortality which seems pretty wild.