After conducting a series of experiments, scientists have concluded that two chemicals found in coffee could retard the growth of prostate cancer cells. The results are promising, but they are preliminary.
Researchers are finding compounds in coffee in search of cancer cure.
Coffee is the most popular drink across the world. In fact, it contains over 1,000 nonvolatile and 1,500 volatile chemicals, which may vary depending on certain factors, including how the beans are prepared.
Recent studies have looked for the connection between coffee consumption and lower prostate cancer risk. There have been encouraging results, so far, allowing researchers to pay more attention to this relationship.
According to the CDC, prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of death in men. If compounds in coffee can help reduce the risk of prostate cancer, it is worth giving a shot to investigations.
Researchers are now digging deeper into coffee’s chemical makeup so they can understand its constituents’ effects against cancer cells.
Recently, scientists from Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science in Japan investigated a wide range of coffee chemicals against prostate cancer in mice. They specifically used cancer cells that were resistant to cancer drugs, including cabazitaxel.
The scientists presented their findings at the European Association of Urology congress in Barcelona, Spain this week. They also published their findings in the journal called The Prostate in December 2018.
The scientists initially looked at the effects of six chemicals that are naturally found in coffee. They then narrowed their attention to two chemicals called kahweol acetate and cafestol, which are hydrocarbons found in Arabica coffee.
In the initial stages, upon adding these coffee chemicals to prostate cancer cells in a petri dish, the researchers found that the cancer cells grew less rapidly.
Next, the scientists studied the effects of those coffee compounds on prostate cancer cells of 16 mice. They were surprised to find that the chemicals inhibited the growth of prostate cancer cells in mice.
Dr. Hiroaki Iwamoto, the study leader, said “We found that kahweol acetate and cafestol inhibited the growth of the cancer cells in mice, but the combination seemed to work synergistically, leading to a significantly slower tumor growth than in untreated mice. The effects were striking.”
The author added, “After 11 days, the untreated tumors had grown by around [3.5] times the original volume (342 percent), whereas the tumors in the mice treated with both compounds had grown by around just over [1.5] (167 percent) times the original size.”
It is imperative to note that the researchers conducted the study on mice. So, they will have to carry out more experiments before ascertaining whether those two coffee chemicals are indeed safe and effective in human beings.
Nevertheless, the researchers are pretty confident and excited about the findings. Dr. Iwamoto said, “What it does show is that these compounds appear to have an effect on drug-resistant cells prostate cancer cells in the right circumstances.”
The researchers have already started expanding their experiment. Dr. Iwamoto explained, “We are currently considering how we might test these findings in a larger sample, and then in humans.”
Although the findings of the study are pretty exciting, there are still many queries to be resolved. Dr. Iwamoto said, “These are promising findings, but they should not make people change their coffee consumption. Coffee can have both positive and negative effects …” He remains upbeat, however, concluding that “if we can confirm these results, we may have candidates to treat drug-resistant prostate cancer.”
