Could drinking coffee lower breast cancer risk?
A study by researchers at the University of Toronto has found that women who have a certain genetic mutation that puts them at increased risk of breast cancer can lower that risk by consuming large amounts of coffee.
The researchers, led by Steven Narod, M.D., Ph.D., studied 1,690 women with so-called BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations. BRCA stands for breast cancer. They determined each woman's average lifetime coffee consumption through a questionnaire.
Among those women with the BRCA1 gene mutation who drank one to three cups of coffee per day, the likelihood of developing breast cancer fell by 10 percent when compared to those with the same mutation who drank no coffee. Four to five cups per day dropped the risk by 25 percent, while six or more cups cut it by 69 percent. Those with the BRCA2 mutation saw no similar gains for their coffee drinking. The research has been published in the International Journal of Cancer.
The researchers think that phytoestrogens, chemicals that are abundant in coffee, may play a role in their findings. Phytoestrogens resemble the natural estrogen hormone found in the body, they write. And like estrogen, phytoestrogens bind to estrogen receptors. This binding may provide protection from estrogen-related actions that have previously been implicated in certain types of breast cancer.
"This is an interesting study," says Kelly Martinez, M.D., co-chair of the Breast Cancer Channel for Revolution Health Group's Medical Advisory Board, "but you have to remember that the possible benefit from coffee consumption was only seen in BRCA1 carriers, which is a minority of our breast cancer patients."
According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, Md., up to 10 percent of American women with breast cancer have a hereditary form of the disease linked to genetic mutations. Often these mutations take place in BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. People with an inherited alteration in either of these genes are at increased risk of developing breast cancer at a young age and are more likely to have family members with the disease. The NCI estimates that up to 85 percent of women with the altered gene develop breast cancer in their lifetimes.
According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer struck an estimated 211,000 women in 2005, and today there are just over 2 million women in the U.S. being treated for the disease. At least 40,000 women die from breast cancer in this country each year.
Mammography is a proven means of detecting early-stage breast cancer, when the disease is most treatable. Routine mammograms can detect cancer up to three years before a woman would feel a lump in a self-breast exam. Mammography screening every one to two years is recommended for women ages 40 and older. It is estimated that regular mammography screening reduces mortality from breast cancer by up to 25 percent over 10 years.
Recent studies have found that breast cancer death rates are decreasing, most likely because of improved rates of early detection combined with more effective treatments.
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This article is from MyDNA.com
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