WashingtonOctober 25(ZN) : Coffee consumption can reduce the risk of a common and slow-growing form of skin cancer called basal cell carcinoma, according a study.

The prospective study examined the risks of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and melanoma in connection with coffee consumption and found a decreased risk for BCC only.

“Given the nearly 1 million new cases of BCC diagnosed each year in the United States, daily dietary factors with even small protective effects may have great public health impact,” said Fengju Song, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the department of dermatology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

“Our study indicates that coffee consumption may be an important option to help prevent BCC,” Song noted.

Song and colleagues reported that women who consumed more than three cups of coffee per day had a 20 percent reduction in risk for BCC, and men who consumed more than three cups per day had a nine percent risk reduction compared with people who consumed less than one cup per month.

The amount of coffee consumption was inversely associated with BCC risk.

The study was presented at the 10th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research