Coffee Could Slow, Stop Prostate Cancer Growth

Researchers in Japan said two compounds found in coffee could slow or even stop prostate cancer growth. 

According to the findings of a new study published in the journal ‘The Prostate,’ two compounds, Kahweol acetate and cafestol were shown to inhibit growth in cells which are resistant to common anti-cancer drugs. 

The results of the research were presented at the 34th European Association of Urology Congress in Barcelona, Spain, a programme which held between March 15 to 19. 

Researchers studied the effects of two particular compounds commonly found in coffee beans in a pilot study examining tumour growth in mice cells.

The scientists however called for caution in applying the results to humans, but said the compounds could become candidates to treat drug-resistant prostate cancer if results were confirmed. 

The hydrocarbon compounds, which can be found in espresso, were often stripped out in filtered coffee. Prostate cancer is the development of cancer in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, some grow relatively quickly. 

The cancer cells may spread from the prostate to other areas of the body, particularly the bones and lymph nodes.

It may initially cause no symptoms, but in later stages, it can lead to difficulty urinating, blood in the urine or pain in the pelvis, back, or when urinating. Prostate cancer is more common, and more deadly, in black men. 

The study leader, Dr Hiroaki Iwamoto of Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science, said: “We found that kahweol acetate and cafestol inhibited the growth of the cancer cells in mice, but the combination seemed to work synergistically, leading to a significantly slower tumour growth than in untreated mice.” 

“After 11 days, the untreated tumours had grown by around three and a half times the original volume (342 per cent), whereas the tumours in the mice treated with both compounds had grown by around just over one and a half (167 per cent) times the original size.”

Categories: Food And Nutrition