Coffee reduces the risk of liver cancer
The results of a large-scale prospective population study conducted by scientists at the University of Helsinki, working under the guidance of Dr. Gang Hu, confirm the inverse relationship between coffee consumption and the risk of liver cancer. In addition, it turned out that a high level of the liver enzyme gamma-glutamyltransferase in the blood is associated with an increased risk of developing the disease.
Finnish residents consume much more coffee per capita than Japanese, Americans, Italians and other Europeans, so the authors examined 60,323 Finns aged 25 to 74 years who did not have malignant tumors at the time of starting work. All the surveyed participated in seven independent cross-demographic studies conducted between 1972 and 2002, and were observed up to 2006.
Participants filled out mailed questionnaires containing questions about their medical history, socio-economic factors, diet and lifestyle. The authors had access to clinical information about some of the participants, including the results of tests for the content of gamma-glutamyltransferase in the blood. Data on cancer diagnoses were obtained from the Finnish Cancer Registry.
Based on the answers to the question: "How many cups of coffee do you drink per day?" the participants were divided into 5 categories: 0-1 cup, 2-3 cups, 4-5 cups, 6-7 cups and 8 or more cups of coffee per day. During the follow-up period, 128 participants were diagnosed with liver cancer, the average duration of the follow-up period before the disease was detected was 19.3 years.
As a result of statistical data processing, the authors revealed a pronounced inverse relationship between coffee consumption and the risk of developing primary liver cancer. They found that the multifactorial probability of risk decreases for each group consuming more coffee, from 1.00 to 0.66, 0.44, 0.38 and 0.32, respectively. The biological mechanisms of this relationship are currently unclear.
In addition, it turned out that high levels of gamma-glutamyltransferase in the blood are associated with a high risk of liver cancer. The probability of developing the disease in individuals belonging to 25% of the population with the highest levels of gamma-glutamyltransferase is 3.13 times higher than in 25% of the population with the lowest indicators. However, the inverse relationship between coffee consumption and the risk of liver cancer persists regardless of the level of gamma-glutamyltransferase.
At the same time, experts emphasize that, despite the importance and reliability of the relationship identified in the epidemiological study, today it is extremely difficult to translate the information obtained into practical methods of preventing liver cancer.
The article by Hu et al. "Joint effects of coffee consumption and serum gamma-glutamyltransferase on the risk of liver cancer" is published in the journal Hepatology.
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of ScienceDaily
30.06.2008