A new study reveals that drinking tea and coffee improves cancer treatment outcomes, thanks to their potential protective role against the disease.
Consuming large amounts of coffee and/or tea was associated with a 24% lower risk of cancer, and while the study found benefits for both beverages, the results revealed a stronger effect of tea compared to coffee.
The study was conducted by researchers from the European Institute of Oncology in Italy, and its results were published in the Journal of Cancer Causes and Control last July, and the American magazine Newsweek wrote about it.
“There appear to be several metabolic pathways that coffee and tea can modulate in order to slow tumor progression and prolong survival,” the researchers wrote in their paper.
In their analysis, the team examined 26 studies that included more than 40,000 cancer patients from across the United States, Asia, Europe, and Australia between 1993 and 2023.
9 studies focused on colorectal cancer, 9 studies on breast cancer, 4 studies on prostate cancer, and 4 studies on other types of cancer (ovarian, liver, and bladder). The average age of the participants ranged between 46 and 69 years.
Protection against cancer
The researchers compared high and low levels of coffee and tea consumption – assessed before or after diagnosis – in relation to cancer recurrence, progression and death.
This included both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, as well as black and green tea (but not herbal tea).
The researchers noted that the protective effect of both drinks was most evident in colorectal cancer, while only tea consumption showed a significant reduction in the risk of breast cancer in some analyses.
The researchers also discovered a dose-response relationship, revealing that each additional cup of coffee or tea significantly reduced the risk of developing these cancers. This percentage was about 10%, with slight differences depending on the type of cancer.
They added that for colorectal cancer, the maximum beneficial effect can be achieved by drinking about 3 cups per day.
The European Food Safety Authority recommends not drinking more than 400 milligrams of caffeine per day, which is equivalent to 3-5 cups of coffee. While this is generally related to the effect of caffeine on heart health, it is recommended to adhere to this acceptable limit.
It found no significant effects on prostate cancer, while data on other types of cancer was very limited.