Every year, more than a million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in Americans, according to the National Cancer Institute. The most common type is basal cell carcinomas. But basal cell cancers are seldom fatal, just potentially disfiguring. The real killer is melanoma, which often metastasizes and spreads throughout the body. Scientists have found an unlikely defense against melanoma: caffeine.
Melanoma
Melanoma develops in melanin-producing cells and, more rarely, in the eyes and internal organs. The definitive cause is unknown but several risk factors are clear. Spending time in the sun or on a tanning bed ups your chance of developing melanoma. Having fair skin, a history of bad sunburns, a weak immune system, cases of melanoma in family members and living at a high elevation or near the equator all predispose you to the deadly disease. Since melanoma is often related to the sun, body parts with lots of sun exposure, such as the face, legs and arms, are the most likely places for the skin cancer to appear. But it can pop up anywhere.
Study at Rutgers
Several studies of caffeine’s effects on melanoma have been done with mice. The research suggests that caffeine helps destroy the DNA-damaged cells with the greatest likelihood of becoming cancerous. Allan Conney of the Rutgers University Chemical Biology Department suspected that a gene called ATR was involved. Caffeine molecules suppress ATR, which leads to the death of the damaged cells. Conney genetically modified mice to be ATR-deficient. Then he shone enough ultraviolet light on them to give them skin cancer. The modified mice grew 69 percent fewer tumors than the normal mice, and the tumors developed later in the experiment. Conney concluded that caffeine applied topically could decrease the incidence of skin cancer.
Drinking Coffee
Evidence suggests a connection between melanoma prevention and topically applied caffeine. But studies involving coffee drinking have had mixed results, according to Jessica Harris, a Cancer Research UK health information manager. Harris reports that studies indicate drinking coffee might slightly improve the odds of remaining cancer-free, but the effects were noted in people who drank very large amounts of coffee. Drinking such large amounts of caffeine could well lead to other problems.
Exercise and Caffeine
Another Rutgers study on mice found that the rodents’ cancer resistance was notably higher if they drank the equivalent of one to two cups of coffee daily and exercised regularly on their wheel. When these activities were combined, the type of cell death the scientists were studying soared up to 400 percent greater than the control group.
When to See Your Doctor
If you suspect you have melanoma, you need to do more than up your coffee intake. The American Academy of Dermatology warns people to look for five abnormal characteristics of moles. It’s relatively easy to remember if you think A, B, C, D and E. A is for an asymmetrical shape. B stands for borders; healthy moles usually have regular rather than scalloped or notched borders. C is for color--if your mole changes color, see your doctor. D is diameter--take note if a mole grows to be more than ¼ inch wide. And if your mole is evolving in any way, get it checked out.
Member Comments