By Cho Jin-seo
Staff Reporter
Gulping down a large coffee surely helps alleviate after-meal drowsiness in the office, but the habit may also reduce the risk of brain cancer, researchers said Monday.
A group led by Kang Sang-soo of Gyeongsang National University and C. Justin Lee of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) found that caffeine, which is abundant in coffee and tea, can slow the growth of brain tumor cells.
In animal tests, daily caffeine intake doubled the probability of survival from the type of brain cancer known as glioblastoma, they said. The amount of caffeine given to the test mice was equivalent to two-to-five cups of coffee per day for humans, they said.
"Drinking coffee can inhibit brain tumor cells," Lee told The Korea Times, Monday. "Though coffee has many components, we now know that caffeine is helpful in treating brain cancer."
According to the KIST scientist, cancer cells in the brain are stimulated by calcium ions when they proliferate and invade healthy cells in neighboring tissues.
Lee and his colleagues found that caffeine inhibits the activity of calcium ions, and this eventually hinders cancer cells from growing. The paper was published in Cancer Research, an academic journal.
There have been several reports postulating that coffee drinkers were less prone to brain cancer, but this is the first time the effect has been scientifically explained.
Earlier this month, research from Imperial College in London said that heavy coffee drinkers were about 40 percent less likely to have brain tumors.
"The Imperial College paper is statistical research based on surveys, but ours is more about the mechanism of caffeine and cancer," Lee said.
Caffeine is a natural brain stimulant. It is abundant in coffee beans and tea leaves and significant amounts can be found in some soft drinks and chocolate as well.
Though the KIST report may be welcomed by some, it does not vindicate caffeine as a cure-all for diseases.
cjs@koreatimes.co.kr
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