Coffee, tea and decaffeinated coffee in relation to hepatocellular carcinoma in a European population: Multicentre, prospective cohort study

• Published in: International journal of cancer Vol. 136; no. 8; pp. 1899 - 1908
• Main Authors: Bamia, Christina, Lagiou, Pagona, Jenab, Mazda, Trichopoulou, Antonia, Fedirko, Veronika, Aleksandrova, Krasimira, Pischon, Tobias, Overvad, Kim, Olsen, Anja, Tjønneland, Anne, Boutron‐Ruault, Marie‐Christine, Fagherazzi, Guy, Racine, Antoine, Kuhn, Tilman, Boeing, Heiner, Floegel, Anna, Benetou, Vasiliki, Palli, Domenico, Grioni, Sara, Panico, Salvatore, Tumino, Rosario, Vineis, Paolo, Bueno‐de‐Mesquita, H.B(as), Dik, Vincent K., Bhoo‐Pathy, Nirmala, Uiterwaal, Cuno S. P. M., Weiderpass, Elisabete, Lund, Eiliv, Quirós, J. Ramón, Zamora‐Ros, Raul, Molina‐Montes, Esther, Chirlaque, Maria‐Dolores, Ardanaz, Eva, Dorronsoro, Miren, Lindkvist, Björn, Wallström, Peter, Nilsson, Lena Maria, Sund, Malin, Khaw, Kay‐Tee, Wareham, Nick, Bradbury, Kathryn E., Travis, Ruth C., Ferrari, Pietro, Duarte‐Salles, Talita, Stepien, Magdalena, Gunter, Marc, Murphy, Neil, Riboli, Elio, Trichopoulos, Dimitrios
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 15.04.2015
• Subjects: Beverages - adverse effects; Caffeine; Caffeine - adverse effects; Cancer; Cancer and Oncology; Cancer och onkologi; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - epidemiology; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - etiology; Case-Control Studies; Clinical Medicine; Coffee; Coffee - adverse effects; Confidence intervals; EPIC; Europe; Female; Health risk assessment; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Humans; Incidence; Klinisk medicin; Liver cancer; Liver Neoplasms - epidemiology; Liver Neoplasms - etiology; Male; Medical and Health Sciences; Medical research; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Middle Aged; Prospective Studies; Risk; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Tea; Tea - adverse effects; Europe; Asia; tea; liver cancer; EPIC; hepatocellular carcinoma; coffee
• ISSN: 0020-7136; 1097-0215; 1097-0215
• DOI: 10.1002/ijc.29214

Inverse associations of coffee and/or tea in relation to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk have been consistently identified in studies conducted mostly in Asia where consumption patterns of such beverages differ from Europe. In the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (EPIC), we identified 201 HCC cases among 486,799 men/women, after a median follow‐up of 11 years. We calculated adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for HCC incidence in relation to quintiles/categories of coffee/tea intakes. We found that increased coffee and tea intakes were consistently associated with lower HCC risk. The inverse associations were substantial, monotonic and statistically significant. Coffee consumers in the highest compared to the lowest quintile had lower HCC risk by 72% [HR: 0.28; 95% confidence intervals (CIs): 0.16–0.50, p‐trend < 0.001]. The corresponding association of tea with HCC risk was 0.41 (95% CI: 0.22–0.78, p‐trend = 0.003). There was no compelling evidence of heterogeneity of these associations across strata of important HCC risk factors, including hepatitis B or hepatitis C status (available in a nested case–control study). The inverse, monotonic associations of coffee intake with HCC were apparent for caffeinated (p‐trend = 0.009), but not decaffeinated (p‐trend = 0.45) coffee for which, however, data were available for a fraction of subjects. Results from this multicentre, European cohort study strengthen the existing evidence regarding the inverse association between coffee/tea and HCC risk. Given the apparent lack of heterogeneity of these associations by HCC risk factors and that coffee/tea are universal exposures, our results could have important implications for high HCC risk subjects. What's new? Could coffee and tea consumption protect from liver cancer? The answer is yes! In this first multi‐center European cohort study, intake of coffee and, to a lesser extent, tea was associated, in a dose‐dependent manner, with lower risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. For the most loyal coffee consumers, risk was reduced by 72%. No protection was observed with decaffeinated coffee. As caffeinated coffee and tea are almost universal exposures, these results may have important implications for individuals at high risk for liver cancer.