A recent study at the University of Toronto, Ontario, showed
that women with a particular type of gene mutation that makes
them more susceptible to contracting breast cancer might improve
their odds by increasing their coffee intake. The mutation,
known as breast cancer 1 and 2 (BRCA1 and 2), is passed on
through familial genes and is highest in members of families
with histories of cancers or of Eastern European Jewish descent.
The study findings were reported in the January 2006 edition of
the International Journal of Cancer. University researchers
studied 1690 high-risk women from 40 clinical centers in 4
countries with BRCA mutations. The women completed
selfadministered questionnaires to assess average lifetime
coffee consumption. The probability of developing breast cancer
among women with BRCA genes who drank 1 to 3 cups of coffee a
day, 4 to 5 cups, or 6 or more cups, was reduced by 10%, 25%,
and 69%, respectively, compared with those who drank no coffee.
Specifically, the protection was found in wome