A meta-analysis of 16 studies found that people who drink coffee every day may have up to a 50% less chance of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of liver cancer.
The meta-analysis, which was conducted by Italian researchers and published in the November 2013 issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, included 16 studies published between 1996 and 2012. The studies encompassed 3153 HCC cases.
Researchers found that study participants who drank at least one cup of coffee per day had a 40% less risk of developing HCC compared with those who didn’t drink any coffee. Some of the data indicated that people who consumed three cups of coffee daily had more than a 50% risk reduction compared with non-coffee drinkers. This inverse relationship between coffee drinking and HCC risk was consistent regardless of the subjects’ sex, consumption of alcohol, or history of hepatitis or liver disease, the researchers said.
The researchers noted that coffee has been shown to have a beneficial effect on liver enzymes and cirrhosis, which may be why it also protects against liver cancer. However, they said, the inverse association may partly or largely be due to the fact that patients with liver and digestive diseases tend to reduce their coffee intake.