Can Coffee Reduce Your Cancer Risk?

April 29, 2026

“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons” wrote the poet T. S. Eliot in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” While he obviously intended a different meaning, it turns out that the brew itself may play a role in the longevity of a person’s life, or at least a person’s cancer risk.

According to research published in the medical journal Scientific Reports, your daily cup of joe may significantly reduce your cancer risk. The researchers compared coffee consumption and incidence of cancer. They found that those who drank coffee on a daily basis had a reduced risk of seven different types of cancer, including: oral, pharynx, liver, colon, melanoma, prostate, and endometrial cancers. The news is especially good when it comes to your liver: researchers found that drinking three cups of coffee daily reduced the risk of liver cancer by 50%.

While a study in Scientific Reports reported mostly good news for coffee drinkers and cancer risk, the researchers found a surprising, albeit small, increased risk of lung cancer among coffee drinkers. It’s not clear why coffee consumption would help to prevent most of the cancers tested but increase the risk of lung cancer.

Earlier research published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that coffee consumption could reduce the risk of death In the meta.-analysis of twenty-one studies and nearly one million participants, researchers found a strong link between coffee consumption and a reduced incidence of death due to cardiovascular disease and “all-cause mortality.” All-cause mortality refers to the general incidence of death from non-specific causes. The study found the greatest reduction in all-cause mortality risk among people who drank four cups of coffee daily while those who drank three cups daily had the greatest cardiovascular disease risk reduction.

Other studies show that it is not the caffeine that helps reduce cancer risk, at least when it comes to colorectal or liver cancers, because decaf coffee showed many of the same protective benefits.

Obviously, the study did not assess the impact of aspartame, sucralose, sugar, flavored syrups or other coffee additions so you may not reap the study benefits with these additions.

Perhaps T. S. Eliot had some insight into the future of nutritional science and longevity when he measured out his life in coffee spoons? If he measured it in the amount of three to four cups daily (I’m not sure how many spoonfuls that is) he may have had a longer life than had his days been measured out in, say … ice cream spoons.

Michelle Schoffro Cook, PhD is an award-winning, best-selling, and 25-time published author, whose books include: The Cancer Files, 60 Seconds to Slim, Pain Erasers, and The Ultimate pH Solution. She is the recipient of a Gold Foreword Indies and a Silver Nautilus award. Her work has been featured in Woman’s World, WebMD, Reviews.com, Yahoo!, Yoga Magazine, and Mother Earth News. Her book, Pain Erasers, was selected by Woman’s World as the “Best New Book.” She is the publisher of the popular free newsletter at DrMichelleCook.com. If you found this information helpful, consider buying me a coffee.