Drinking 3 cups of coffee a day reduces the risk of skin cancer by 20%

This prospective study examined the association between coffee drinking and the risk of basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and melanoma. It turns out that drinking coffee can only reduce the risk of basal cell cancer.

Song Fengju, a postdoctoral fellow and lead researcher of dermatology at Harvard Medical School, said that nearly 1 million patients with basal cell cancer are newly diagnosed in the United States each year, and that the control of dietary factors, including coffee drinking, even if they play a small protective role, is also of great public health significance. "our new research shows that drinking coffee is an important measure to prevent basal cell carcinoma," Dr. Song said. "

A study by Dr. Song and his colleagues found that coffee consumption was inversely proportional to the risk of skin cancer. Men and women who drank more than three cups of coffee a day had a 9% and 20% lower risk of basal cell cancer, respectively, compared with those who drank less than one cup of coffee a month. However, drinking coffee does not reduce the risk of the other two types of skin cancer (squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma).

The researchers pointed out that caffeine in coffee is likely to play a protective role. Non-caffeinated coffee was not associated with a reduced risk of basal cell cancer.