Coffee consumption dramatically lowers the chance of bowel cancer recurring.

Coffee drinkers are less likely to develop cancerous tumors in the intestines, according to new research.

A study in the Netherlands found that patients with colorectal cancer who nurse at least two cups of coffee a day are less likely to relapse. It also seemed that drinking a few cups a day reduced their chances of an early death.

The analysis excluded patients with all but the most advanced stages of bowel cancer.

Today, bowel cancer resurfaces after treatment in up to 30% of patients, which means that if the recent findings from the Netherlands can be verified in larger studies, coffee could one day be recognized as a life-changing medicine for some cancer patients.

Compared to colorectal cancer patients who drank fewer than two cups of coffee a day, those included in the study who drank at least five cups a day had a 32 percent lower chance of their disease returning within the next six years.

An international team of researchers led by researchers at Wageningen University in the Netherlands noticed a link between how much coffee a patient drank and their risk of dying from any cause during that same period.

Three to five cups of coffee a day were associated with the greatest reduction in all-cause mortality, peaking at 29 percent compared to those who drank less than two cups. The peak diminished after more than five cups a day.

It is possible that drinking as much coffee will not improve a cancer patient’s odds, and it could even have negative outcomes for other aspects of their health. There seems to be a point of convergence.

The study in the Netherlands examines how caffeine consumption affects relapse rates in bowel cancer patients, beyond just their longevity.

There was no association between drinking coffee and cancer recurrence in the only other study that investigated this question. The study focused on patients with stage III colon cancer, whereas the recent one in the Netherlands examined bowel cancer stages I to III.

It’s impossible to say if coffee drinkers in the Netherlands are reducing the risk of dying from bowel cancer specifically because they couldn’t evaluate specific causes of death with the available data.

Some studies have, for example, linked coffees potent antioxidant properties to improved cardiovascular outcomes. Some types of skin cancer, liver cancer, womb cancer, prostate cancer and even oral cancer could be protected by the drink.

The underlying mechanisms behind the possible protective effects of coffee consumption on colonic cancer recurrence remain unclear, according to epidemiologist Abisola Oyelere and colleagues.

There is a link between coffee and longer life spans that has been found in several other parts of the world.

A 2018 study in the US found that colorectal patients who consumed more than four cups of coffee a day had a 30 percent lower risk of all-cause mortality compared to those who drank no coffee at all.

The same study also found that drinking more than four cups of coffee a day reduces the risk of mortality by up to 54 percent among patients with any stage of colorectal cancer, including the most advanced cases.

All-cause mortality was similar to our findings… The potential differences in the coffee preparation and serving techniques are not considered by Oyelere and colleagues.

The size of a standard coffee in the Netherlands is half that in the US.

The powerful therapeutic effect of coffee may be due to its ability to activate metabolic pathways that lessen the effects of oxidative stress. Maybe it alters the microbiome of the gut to prevent cancer from growing in the intestines. Coffee might boost the liver’s capabilities, aiding in the body’s fight against cancer.

There is further investigation needed.

Our observational study doesn’t reveal a causal link, but our findings could inform future intervention studies and provide evidence to formulate recommendations for colonic cancer patients, according to the authors of the Dutch study.

The research was reported in the International Journal of Cancer.