Abstract 1267: Coffee consumption and the risk of colorectal cancer
Authors: Stenzel Stephanie , Rennert Hedy S. , Rennert Gad , Gruber Stephen B. 
Published: May 2015

Coffee contains several bioactive components that are relevant to colon physiology, and coffee consumption has been proposed as a protective factor for colorectal cancer. However, epidemiologic evidence of an association between coffee consumption and the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) remains inconclusive. We investigated the association between coffee drinking and risk of CRC in 4,933 cases and 3,539 controls from the Molecular Epidemiology of Colorectal Cancer (MECC) study, a population-based case-control study of incident CRC in a geographically-defined area of northern Israel. We also examined the association by type of coffee (decaffeinated, boiled, espresso, instant, and filtered), by ethnic sub-group (Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardi Jews, and Arabs), and by cancer site (colon and rectum). Coffee consumption data was collected by interview using a validated, semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis adjusted for known risk factors including sex, age, ethnicity, vegetable consumption, sports participation, statin use, and daily low-dose aspirin use in all multivariable models.  Mean coffee consumption in servings per day was 1.5 for Ashkenazi Jews, 1.9 for Sephardi Jews, 3.1 for Arabs, and 1.8 overall. Instant coffee was most common among Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jewish coffee-drinkers, and boiled coffee was most common among Arabs. Coffee consumption was associated with a 31% relative reduction in odds of CRC [OR (drinkers of any amount versus non-drinkers): 0.69; 95% CI: 0.60-0.81; P = 2.2E-06] in a multivariable adjusted model. The inverse association was also observed upon study of decaffeinated coffee consumption in isolation (OR: 0.74; 95% CI: 0.61-0.89; P = 1.7E-03). A strong, inverse dose-response relationship between coffee drinking and risk of CRC was evident. Compared with drinkers of &lt;1 serving/day, drinkers of 1 to &lt;2 servings/day (OR: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.68-0.90; P = 5.9E-04), 2 to 2.5 servings/day (OR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.48-0.64; P = 1.6E-15), and &gt;2.5 servings/day (OR: 0.41; 95% CI: 0.35-0.49; P &lt; 2E-16), had statistically significant lower odds of developing CRC. Findings were consistent in all ethnic groups and were strongly statistically significant in the largest ethnic subgroups in our study (Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews). Also, the statistically significant protective effect was observed in both colon and rectal cancers. This investigation represents the case-control study with the largest number of incident colorectal cancers to examine the association between coffee consumption and risk of CRC. Overall, we demonstrated that even a modest level of consumption, regardless of caffeine status, is associated with a meaningful reduction in the risk of colorectal cancer.

Citation Format: Stephanie Stenzel, Hedy S. Rennert, Gad Rennert, Stephen B. Gruber. Coffee consumption and the risk of colorectal cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 1267. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1267