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.”
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