Drinking coffee may reduce your chance of developing liver cancer by 50 per cent

LONDON Nov 22: A cup of coffee in the morning could have greater benefits than just helping tired workers wake up.

Coffee drinkers have half the risk of the most common type of liver cancer, a study has found.

The coffee bean contains polyphenols that may stop cancer cells dividing.

Researchers from Queen’s University Belfast looked at almost half a million people, of whom more than three- quarters drank coffee.

They were 50 per cent less likely to be diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma, which makes up nine out of ten cases of liver cancer.

Dr Una McMenamin, of Queen’s, said: ‘Our findings are reassuring in suggesting coffee may have health benefits.’

Lead author Kim Tu Tran said: ‘People with a coffee-drinking habit could find keeping that habit going is good for their health.

‘That is because coffee contains antioxidants and caffeine, which may protect against cancer.

‘However drinking coffee is not as protective against liver cancer as stopping smoking, cutting down on alcohol or losing weight.’

The study, presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) conference in Glasgow, found older, university-educated people, those who drank alcohol and men in particular were most likely to drink coffee.

Researchers tracked 365,157 coffee-drinkers, and more than 100,000 people who did not drink coffee, over seven and a half years using national cancer records.

In that time 88 people were diagnosed with the most common form of liver cancer, which is rising in England.