A new research conducted by the staff of the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan has shown that drinking coffee reduces the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (the most common type of liver cancer) by 40%.
According to the author of the study, Carlo La Vecchia, drinking three cups a day reduces this probability by more than 50%. He believes that coffee has a favorable effect on the health of the liver due to the fact that it helps to prevent diabetes – a risk factor for liver disease.
The researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 16 large-scale studies, published in 1996-2012. In total, they studied 3,153 cases of liver cancer. The experts still do not know whether it was coffee that played an important role in the prevention of liver cancer. So they plan to continue their studies, and they say it is better to apply the already proven methods of prevention at the moment.
Previously, the employees of the American Cancer Society in Atlanta found that four cups of coffee reduced the risk of developing cancer of the oral cavity. The researchers from the Medical School of the Duke-National University of Singapore found that the drink reduced the risk of developing fatty liver disease – a disease associated with the accumulation of fat in the liver, which occurs in non-drinking people. Their colleagues at the University of Queensland believe that coffee helps to lose weight by suppressing appetite. Japanese experts have concluded that the daily consumption of coffee can reduce the risk of stroke by one fifth.
The study of the Italian researchers is published in the Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology journal.
