Caffeine can prevent skin cancer

Moderate consumption of caffeine may prevent skin cancer, researchers say. In addition, because caffeine can also absorb ultraviolet rays directly, it can also be used as a sunscreen.

Previous studies have shown that caffeine inhibits a protease called ATR. In the new study, researchers at Rutgers University developed genetically modified mice in which the ATR protease was suppressed. After exposure to ultraviolet radiation, genetically modified mice developed skin tumors three weeks later than ordinary mice; after 19 weeks in ultraviolet environment, the number of genetically modified mice with tumors was 69% less than that of ordinary mice, and the number of genetically modified mice with invasive tumors was only 1/4 of that of the latter.

The findings have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers said that caffeine can prevent UV damage, which may be due to the fact that caffeine inhibits ATR protease, which further promotes the apoptosis of DNA cells damaged by UV radiation, reducing the risk of the damaged cells turning into tumor cells.