The association of coffee intake on liver cancer incidence and liver disease mortality in male smokers

Thursday, October 11, 2012 — Poster Session III
10:00 a.m. – Noon	Natcher Conference Center, Building 45	NCI	EPID-13

* FARE Award Winner

Authors

• GY Lai
• SJ Weinstein
• D Albanes
• J Virtamo
• KA McGlynn
• R Sinha
• ND Freedman

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have suggested benefits of coffee intake on liver cancer and liver disease. Yet, most cohort studies were conducted in Asian populations. Thus, we evaluated the association of coffee intake with incident liver cancer and chronic liver disease mortality in a cohort of Finnish men. Methods: The Alpha-Tocopherol and Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study was a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of α-tocopherol and β-carotene supplementation, set in a population of Finnish male smokers aged 50-69. At baseline, 27,086 men completed a food frequency questionnaire assessing coffee and were followed up to 24 years for liver cancer or liver disease death. Relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by Cox proportional hazard models. Results: Compared to men who drank up to 1 cup/day, men who drank 4+ cups/day had a reduced risk of liver cancer (RR per cup/day= 0.84, 95% CI=0.75-0.95; p-trend across increasing categories=0.0021) and liver disease death (0.56, 0.49-0.64; p-trend<0.0001). These associations persisted in nondiabetics, moderate alcohol drinkers, HBV and HCV negative cases, and lighter smokers. Discussion: Coffee intake was associated with a reduced risk of liver cancer and liver disease death, and could affect these outcomes through several mechanisms including antioxidants and insulin resistance.

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