Does Coffee Cause Cancer? CA's Proposition 65 Cedars-Sinai Skip to content Close Select your preferred language English عربى 简体中文 繁體中文 فارسي עִברִית 日本語 한국어 Русский Español Tagalog Menu Close Call 1-800-CEDARS-1 toggle search form Close Share Email Print CS-Blog Cedars-Sinai Blog Coffee and Cancer Is There a Link Aug 08, 2018 Cedars-Sinai Staff Share Tweet Post You might remember earlier this year when a Los Angeles judge ruled in favor of putting a cancer warning on coffee sold throughout California. If you're like us, you probably started wondering about the cancer risk associated with your morning coffee. Is coffee going to give me cancer? Should I stop drinking it? What is life without coffee? These are valid questions, and we wanted to get to the bottom of them STAT. We sat down with Jane Figueiredo, PhD, researcher at the Cedars-Sinai Center for Integrated Research on Cancer and Lifestyle, to get answers. Read: Lifestyle and Cancer: Understanding the Connection What do we know about the link between cancer and drinking coffee Figueiredo: In 2016, more than 1,000 studies were reviewed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to determine if drinking coffee increased cancer risk. In the end, the IARC could not conclude that drinking coffee increases cancer risk and deemed the risk "unclassifiable." However, many studies have shown reduced risk of developing certain cancers in coffee drinkers. There are many compounds in coffee that could be responsible for increasing or decreasing risk. "There are many other modifiable lifestyle factors that you could change that would more substantially lower your risk of cancer, including quitting smoking, exercising, and eating a healthy diet." Two years ago the World Health Organization removed coffee from its possible carcinogen list so why is California now mandating coffee come with a cancer warning Figueiredo: Coffee contains acrylamide, which is produced during the bean roasting process. The IARC considers acrylamide a "probable carcinogen" largely based on animal studies, but large observational studies, systematic reviews, and analyses of human studies have showed that dietary acrylamide is not related to the risk of most common cancers. Some have reported modest associations for rarer cancers, like kidney, endometrial, and ovarian cancers, but overall there isn't a lot of concrete evidence at this point to suggest acrylamide increases cancer risk in humans. This is an active area of research. Read: Healthy Grilling: Reducing the Risk of Cancer Could coffee lower my risk of cancer Figueiredo: Coffee has been linked to decreased risk of ovarian, thyroid, breast, and several other non-GI cancers. My research has focused on colon cancer, and we have seen that coffee has been associated with lower cancer risk in many GI track cancers, including colon, liver, and pancreatic cancer. There is also evidence that coffee may help reduce risk of Parkinson's disease, heart failure, type 2 diabetes, and it has anti-inflammatory properties as well. Read: The Science of Eating Overall should people be worried about drinking coffee Figueiredo: Research shows there could be many potential benefits of coffee. We don't have evidence that there is an increased risk of cancer, but we can't definitively say there is no risk. There are many other modifiable lifestyle factors that you could change that would more substantially lower your risk of cancer, including quitting smoking, exercising, and eating a healthy diet. Tags Food and Nutrition Cancer Share Tweet Post Popular Categories Health + Wellness Science + Innovation Community Blog & Magazines catalyst Blog & Magazines Home CS-Blog Blog CS Magazine Cedars-Sinai Magazine discoveries magazine Discoveries Magazine Embracing our Community Embracing Our Community Blog & Magazines catalyst Blog & Magazines Home CS-Blog Blog Embracing our Community Embracing Our Community CS Magazine Cedars-Sinai Magazine discoveries magazine Discoveries Magazine Popular Topics Cancer Women's Health Heart Expert Advice Patient Stories Brain Make an Appointment Find a Doctor Schedule a Callback Call us 24 hours a day 1-800-CEDARS-1 Support Cedars-Sinai Make a Gift Volunteer Share Email Print Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility