Coffee May Reduce the Risk of Liver Cancer by 50 Percent with Three Cups

Like coffee? Can't live without it? Well it turns out that your morning cup may just be a bit better for your health than you may have thought. Scientists have discovered that coffee consumption reduces the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of liver cancer, by about 40 percent. So drink up--you may be helping your health.

In order to examine how coffee might impact health, the researchers performed a meta-analysis of articles published from 1996 through September 2012. Ultimately, they studied 16 high-quality studies and a total of 3,153 cases. This allowed them to get a better sense of how coffee consumption was affecting patients. In the end, the researchers found that some data indicate that three cups of coffee per day reduce liver cancer risk by more than 50 percent.

"Our research confirms past claims that coffee is good for your health, and particularly the liver," said Carlo La Vecchia, one of the researchers, in a news release. "The favorable effect of coffee on liver cancer might be mediated by coffee's proven prevention of diabetes, a known risk factor for the disease, or for its beneficial effects on cirrhosis and liver enzymes."

That said, the results still don't give any firm evidence. Despite the consistency across the studies, time periods and populations, it's difficult to establish whether the association between coffee drinking and HCC is causal, or if this relationship may be partially attributable to the fact that patients with liver and digestive diseases often voluntarily reduce their coffee intake.

"It remains unclear whether coffee drinking has an additional role in liver cancer prevention," said La Vecchia in a news release. "But, in any case, such a role would be limited as compared to what is achievable through the current measures."

While coffee may not prevent liver cancer, it certainly reduces the risk. That said, there are other ways to reduce liver cancer. Primary liver cancers are largely avoidable through hepatitis B virus vaccination, control of hepatitis C virus transmission and reduction of alcohol drinking. Together, these three measures can avoid more than 90 percent of primary liver cancer worldwide.

That said, coffee does provide some health benefits. So drink up--it turns out that coffee can be good for you.

The findings are published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.