What Is the Connection between Prostate Cancer and Coffee?

Drinking coffee might reduce the risk of prostate cancer. A long-term study documented in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute demonstrated that men who drank at least cups of coffee per day were 20 percent less likely to get any form of prostate cancer and were about 60 percent less likely to get an aggressive form of prostate cancer that could spread throughout the body. There was no difference in the results between those who drank caffeinated coffee and those who drank decaffeinated coffee.

More facts about prostate cancer:

• Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer among men in the United States and is second only to lung cancer in terms of deadliness. About one in six men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some time, and about one out of every 36 men in the U.S. die of prostate cancer.


• Prostate cancer is more common in black and Hispanic men than in Caucasian men. Asians, Pacific Islanders and American Indians tend to have the lowest incidences of prostate cancer. Black men are almost twice as likely to die of prostate cancer as Caucasians.


• Although no specific cause of prostate cancer is known, risk factors include eating a lot of dairy and red meat, having hormonal imbalances and having a relative with the condition.