Coffee counteracts liver cancer risks from drinking alcohol, study finds

Liver cancer is the second-deadliest type of cancer worldwide, and the London-based World Cancer Research Fund has a new report out examining what factors appear to contribute to liver cancer, and what helps people survive it. On the contributing-factor side, the WCRF study found that three or more alcoholic drinks a day increases the risk of liver cancer — the same conclusion as in the body's last look at liver cancer in 2007.

In new findings, though, the WCRF discovered "strong evidence that drinking coffee is linked to a decreased risk of liver cancer," for reasons that aren't yet clear. "Both coffee and coffee extracts have also been shown to reduce the expression of genes involved in inflammation, and the effects appear to be most pronounced in the liver," the researchers suggest. This evidence comes largely from animal studies, "although some human studies contribute to the evidence," the study adds.

Other risk factors for liver cancer are obesity and being overweight — a new finding — and consuming aflatoxins, produced by a type of mold found on food stored improperly in warmer parts of the world. The researchers based their conclusions on 34 studies from around the world involving 8.2 million adults, 24,500 of whom had liver cancer. You can read the report at the WCRF's site.

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