FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Caffeine shown to protect against skin cancer in mice --

New study explains a potential mechanism for this activity

April 1, 2008 – “Epidemiology studies suggest that coffee drinkers and tea drinkers have a lower risk of skin cancer,” says Allan H. Conney, the Rutgers University scientist whose group discovered that caffeine acts as a “sunscreen” in mice.

In a recent investigation he identified the possible mechanism for this finding. His group discovered that when they gave mice caffeine in their drinking water, it caused the destruction of cells that were damaged by UVB irradiation. The destruction of those damaged cells means that they could no longer reproduce and lead to cancer.

These interesting findings and a description of mechanisms are in a paper published April 1st in the journal Cancer Research from the American Association for Cancer Research. Investigators Conney, Yao-Ping Lu and their coauthors are from the Susan Lehman Cullman Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Chemical Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Colleague Dr. Paul Nghiem is at the University of Washington in Seattle. Dr. Conney and his group have published earlier results from their ongoing studies on UVB irradiation and skin cancer.

In a prior study published a few months ago on the topical application of caffeine containing substances, the authors concluded that the results of their research “indicate that caffeine and caffeine sodium benzoate are novel sun-protective substances that inhibit carcinogenesis when applied topically to mice either before or after exposure to UVB.” They went on to write, “Further studies are needed to determine the effects of topical application or oral administration of caffeine and caffeine sodium benzoate on the formation of actinic keratoses and skin cancer in humans.”

For the current investigation the researchers worked with 0.4 mg/ml of caffeine, which resulted in laboratory blood levels similar to those seen in humans after three to five cups of coffee a day.

They wrote, “Studies from our laboratory showed that administration of caffeine or caffeine sodium benzoate has sunscreen activity, increases the elimination of DNA-damaged cells by apoptosis [programmed cell death], and inhibits UVB-induced carcinogenesis… The results of these studies suggest that caffeine and caffeine sodium benzoate may be mechanistically novel agents for inhibiting sunlight-induced skin cancer.” Until clinical trials are done to determine the effectiveness and safety of caffeine and caffeine sodium benzoate administration for the prevention of sunlight-induced skin cancer, it is important to continue the use of commercial sunscreens for protection against sunlight-induced skin cancer.

Results may be found in Cancer Research 2008;68:(7). April 1, 2008. A PDF of the paper is available upon request by emailing mjwyatt@erols.com