Prospective study of coffee consumption and the risk of cancer.

Information on coffee consumption was obtained from 7,355 men clinically examined from 1965 to 1968, as part of a prospective cohort study. Since examination, the following numbers of newly diagnosed cancer cases have been identified: 110 lung, 108 colon, 108 prostate, 106 stomach, 60 rectum, 39 bladder, 21 pancreas, and 120 other sites. Coffee intake did not significantly increase the risk for any of the cancers in this study. There was a slight suggestion of a positive association between heavy coffee intake and the risk for lung and urinary bladder cancer, but it could be attributed to the confounding effects of cigarette smoking among the male coffee drinkers. Overall, there was no strong evidence that coffee intake increased the risk for any of the common cancers in this study.