Three Cups of Italian-Style Coffee Reduces Prostate Cancer Risk

The higher concentration of bioactive substances in the coffee prepared the Italian way lowers the risk of prostate cancer by 53%.

Highlights

Italian- style coffee is made with high pressure, very high water temperature and with no filters making it a healthy brew.
The role of coffee is still hotly debated to //this day, and specifically caffeine, in relation to prostate cancer.
Caffeine exerts both antiproliferative and antimetastatic activity on two prostate cancer cell lines.

Three or more cups of Italian coffee a day can lower prostate cancer risk. An antitumor action confirmed also by laboratory experiments.

The role of coffee is still hotly debated to this day, and specifically caffeine, in relation to prostate cancer. A protective effect of the popular drink has already been suggested by some recent studies.

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‘Caffeine significantly reduced cancer cells proliferation, as well as their ability to metastasize in prostate cancer patients.’

"In recent years we have seen a number of international studies on this issue - explains George Pounis, greek researcher at Neuromed and first author of the paper - But scientific evidence has been considered insufficient to draw conclusions. Moreover, in some cases results were contradictory. Our goal, therefore, was to increase knowledge in this field and to provide a clearer view".

Italian-Style Coffee

Italian- style coffee is made with high pressure, very high water temperature and with no filters making it a healthy brew.

Prostate Cancer Screening
PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) test and Digital Rectal Examination are two tests that allow detection of prostate cancer at early stages.

To test the effect of coffee, about seven thousand men, resident in Molise region and participating in the epidemiological study Moli-sani, were observed for four years on average.

"By analyzing their coffee consumption habits - explains Pounis - and comparing them with prostate cancer cases occurred over time, we saw a net reduction of risk, 53%, in those who drank more than three cups a day".

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PSA blood test is specific to prostate gland but not necessarily a cancer specific test but is commonly used to diagnose prostate cancer.

Then researchers sought confirmation by testing the action of coffee extracts on prostate cancer cells in laboratory studies. They tested, in particular, extracts containing caffeine or decaffeinated.

Only the first ones significantly reduced cancer cells proliferation, as well as their ability to metastasize. An effect that largely disappeared with decaf.

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"The observations on cancer cells - says Maria Benedetta Donati, Head of Laboratory of Translational Medicine - allow us to say that the beneficial effect observed among the seven thousand participants is most likely due to caffeine, rather than to the many other substances contained in coffee".

Licia Iacoviello, head of the Molecular and Nutritional Epidemiology Laboratory said, "We should keep in mind that the study is conducted on a central Italy population. They prepare coffee rigorously Italian way: high pressure, very high water temperature and with no filters.”

She insists that this method, different from those followed in other areas of the world, could lead to a higher concentration of bioactive substances. It will be very interesting, now, to explore this aspect. Coffee is an integral part of Italian lifestyle, which, we must remember, is not made just by individual foods, but also by the specific way they are prepared.

Reference

George Pounis et al., Reduction by coffee consumption of prostate cancer risk: Evidence from the Moli-sani cohort and cellular models, International Journal of Cancer (2017) http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ijc.30720.

Source-Medindia