Coffee consumption and cancer risk in African Americans from the Southern Community Cohort Study

In the minimally adjusted model, consumption of regular or decaffeinated coffee was statistically significantly associated with increased risk of lung cancer (P = 3.3 × 10–4 for 1–2 times/day and 4.1 × 10–4 for ≥ 2 times/day). However, this association was no longer statistically significant in the fully-adjusted model including BMI and smoking (P = 0.063 for 1–2 times/day and 0.726 for ≥ 2 times/day). No statistically significant associations between coffee consumption and cancer risk were observed for prostate, breast, colorectal, or all four cancers combined.

We found no association between coffee consumption and risk of cancer overall or by cancer site after adjustment for cancer-specific risk factors.

In prostate, breast, and colorectal cancers, we observed a trend towards a protective association for coffee intake 2 or more times a day, although none of the results were statistically significant. This trend is in line with the recent large case–control and cohort studies that found a protective association between coffee consumption and the risk of cancers of the breast25, colon26, and prostate27 in Whites. In addition, our findings are consistent with a recent case–control study of White British individuals from the UK Biobank cohort28.