Coffee Not Associated with Ovarian Cancer

21/11/07 New research does not show a link between drinking coffee and ovarian cancer, according to a study published in this month's British Journal of Cancer.

With funding from World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), the researchers from Maastricht University in The Netherlands looked at the tea and coffee drinking habits of 62,573 post-menopausal women. Of these, 280 women had already had ovarian cancer.

Tea was drunk by 89 per cent of the women, with average consumption being three cups per day. Coffee was consumed by 96 per cent of the women in the group, and they drank an average of four cups per day. The researchers could find no evidence of an increase in risk from drinking coffee and tea was found to have a small protective effect, although this is not statistically significant.

Many studies have looked at tea and coffee consumption and whether or not it has an effect on our health and risk of cancer. This is because they contain substances, such as caffeine and tannins, which have an effect on our bodies. Unfortunately research can often produce inconsistent results. This is why scientists do further studies and examine the level of consumption in large numbers of people in an aim to provide a definite answer.

Leading the study is Dr Leo Schouten from the Department of Epidemiology. He said: "It will be reassuring for women to know that we could find no risk of developing ovarian cancer from drinking tea and coffee. These drinks are commonly consumed around the world and that is why it is important for us to analyse their relationship with our health."

Dr Greg Martin, Head of Science and Research at WCRF, said: "Several studies have looked at tea and coffee and risk of cancer and the results have been conflicting. That is why this piece of research is important in adding to other evidence which shows that these drinks don't increase our risk of cancer which will be a big relief to women everywhere."

Tea is the most popular drink in the UK with around 165 million cups drank each day. Coffee lags behind with 70 million cups consumed each day.