Coffee may reduce risk of endometrial cancer

A new study has found that women who drink more than four cups of coffee per day have a siginificantly lower risk of developing endometrial cancer. The study, which was published in the February issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, evaluated the dietary habits of more than 2,800 women diagnosed with cancer of the endometrium. Using data on more than 456,000 women from two large ongoing studies, researchers found that women who drank about four cups of coffee per day daily had an 18 percent lower risk of getting endometrial cancer than women who drank less than one cup per day. While the study found a link between coffee consumption and this type of cancer, researchers have stressed that this is not a cause and effect relationship. While researchers do not know exactly why coffee may lower the risk of this particular type of cancer, it is thought that it could be because coffee reduces oestrogen levels on the body. According to the American Cancer Society, the risk of endometrial cancer rises if the balance between estrogen and progesterone shifts and leans more toward estrogen.