Wednesday October 15, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- Drinking
coffee or eating caffeine-laden foods does not seem to increase the overall
risk of breast cancer in the general population, according to researchers at
Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.
But Dr. Shumin M. Zhang, coauthor of the study, warned
that drinking high amounts of caffeine or four cups or more coffee daily may
increase risk for breast cancer in women with benign breast disease or for breast
tumors that have less favorable prognoses.
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health
and published in the Oct 13, 2008 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
For the study, Zhang and colleagues from Tokyo Women's
Medical University in Japan surveyed the diets of 39,000 women ages 45 or older
for a period of four years between 1992 and 1995.
Study subjects were medical care professionals with three
quarters registered nurses. During the follow-up of a decade, 1,190 women
developed invasive breast cancer.
The researchers found there was no significant
association between drinking coffee or caffeine containing foods and risk of
breast cancer.
Drinking four cups of coffee or more was linked to an 8
percent increased risk of breast cancer whereas drinking two cups of tea daily
was associated with a 3 percent increased risk.
The comparison is made against those who did not drink any.
But among those who had a history of benign breast
disease, consumption of highest amounts of caffeine appeared to increase risk
for them to develop breast cancer by 32 percent while drinking 4 cups of coffee
daily raised the risk by 35 percent.
Also among those who consumed caffeine, the risk for developing
tumors larger than two centimeters was increased by 79 percent.
Caffeine consumption increased the risk for developing
estrogen and/or progesterone receptor-negative breast cancer by 68 percent.
The researchers conclude "These data show no overall association between caffeine consumption and breast cancer risk. The possibility of increased risk in women with benign breast disease or for tumors that are estrogen and progesterone receptor negative or larger than 2 cm warrants further study."
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