Coffee cuts breast cancer risk for some

TORONTO, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Women with a genetic mutation that puts them at high risk of breast cancer can cut their risk by drinking at least six cups of coffee a day, a Canadian study finds.

The BRCA1 mutation gives women an 80 percent risk of developing cancer. But the coffee cuts that risk to about 20 percent.

"The results are dramatic," Steven Narod, Canadian Research Chair in Breast Cancer and principal author of the study, told the Toronto Globe and Mail.

Women who were more moderate coffee drinkers had a proportionately smaller reduction in cancer risk. Drinking decaffeinated coffee appeared to increase the risk of cancer slightly.

Caffeine appears to help the body metabolize estrogen, which has been linked to breast cancer.