The Philippine Online Chronicles

A study by Swedish researchers has revealed that drinking five cups of coffee can significantly reduce a woman's risk of having breast cancer.

“A high daily intake of coffee was found to be associated with a statistically significant decrease in estrogen receptor negative breast cancer among post-menopausal women,” researcher wrote in journal Breast Cancer Research.

The experts from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm analyzed data from 5,929 Swedish women who were between 50 to 74 years old. Questionnaires given to the women sought to determine patterns in their smoking, eating, and drinking habbits.

From the questionnaires alone, they noticed that women drinking five cups of coffee per day have “at least 33 percent lesser chances of having estrogen-receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer.”

The researchers said that although they saw an association between coffee and the risk of cancer, they have yet to find out if the two have a cause-and-effect relationship. Dr. Per Hal, co-author of the study, said their next step will be determining what specific chemical in the coffee seems to cause a decrease in ER-negative breast cancer risk.

“We are surprised. But the result was clear. When we looked more closely the more aggressive form of cancer -- the estrogen-receptor negative -- was reduced by over half, meaning half as many women who drank lots of coffee were diagnosed with this cancer,” said Hal.

“We just don't know what might be behind this association. There are so many different compounds in coffee that it could be any one of them that could be having an effect,” he explained.

However, Caitlin Palframan of Breakthrough Breast Cancer warned women who are increasing their coffee intake specifically to reduce their cancer risks.

“Women can reduce their chances of developing breast cancer by maintaining a healthy weight, cut back on alcohol and getting regular physical activity,” Palframan stressed.