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Home > Feature Columns > Coffee Chat News > Women Coffee Drinkers May Have Lower Risk of Uterine Cancer

Women Coffee Drinkers May Have Lower Risk of Uterine Cancer

September 15, 2008

Uterine cancer, the fourth most common cancer in women according the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, may be lowered with regular coffee consumption, the conclusion of a major survey by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. The study reported that women who drink just one to three cups of coffee per day are 40% less likely to develop uterine cancer than those who drink only a few cups per week or none at all. The survey also indicated that the more coffee women drank, the lower the rate of contracting the cancer (60%).

The study monitored nearly 54,000 women ages 40 to 69 in nine prefectures across the country of Japan for 15 years, from 1990 to 2005. The women were divided into four groups by the amount of coffee they drank. During the study, only 117 women developed cancer in the uterus, little more than two percent of the study population.

The reasons for coffee's efficacy in deflecting uterine cancer? "Coffee may have effects in lowering insulin levels, possibly curbing the risks…", the study's report posits.

Taichi Shimazu, a staff scientist with the National Cancer Center's Epidemiology and Prevention Division, said there was a possibility that coffee could affect the cancer rate. "It is known that drinking coffee results in low concentrations of estrogen and insulin. There is a possibility that this affects the rate of cancer," he said. (Cervical cancer, which occurs at the entrance of the womb, is thought to be caused by virus infections.)

Uterine cancer, (aka endometrial cancer), occurs in the rear inner membrane of the uterus, and has been linked to the female hormone estrogen, and insulin, which alters blood-sugar levels. Coffee has been shown to decrease both insulin and estrogen levels. This is considered important because insulin or estrogen-activated cancers can develop not only from the endometrium itself but also can cause cervical cancer, sarcoma of the myometrium, and trophoblastic disease.

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