Coffee, tea, and melanoma risk among postmenopausal women

Authors:
  • KRKatherine W. Reeves
    Katherine W. Reeves
  • JQJing Qian
    Jing Qian
  • SSSusan R. Sturgeon
    Susan R. Sturgeon
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Abstract
Laboratory research suggests that components in coffee and tea may have anticarcinogenic effects. Some epidemiologic studies have reported that women who consume coffee and tea have a lower risk for melanoma. We assessed coffee, tea, and melanoma risk prospectively in the Women’s Health Initiative – Observational Study cohort of 66 484 postmenopausal women, followed for an average of 7.7 years. Coffee and tea intakes were measured through self-administered questionnaires at baseline and at year 3 of follow-up. Self-reported incident melanomas were adjudicated using medical records. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate risk, adjusting for covariates, with person-time accumulation until melanoma diagnosis ( n =398), death, loss to follow-up, or through 2005. Daily coffee [hazard ratio (HR)=0.87, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.68–1.12] and tea (HR=1.03, 95% CI 0.81–1.31) intakes were not significantly associated with melanoma risk compared with nondaily intake of each beverage. No significant trends were observed between melanoma risk and increasing intakes of coffee ( P for trend=0.38) or tea ( P for trend=0.22). Women who reported daily coffee intake at both baseline and year 3 had a significantly decreased risk compared with women who reported nondaily intake at both time points (HR=0.68, 95% CI 0.48–0.97). Consistent daily tea intake was not associated with decreased melanoma risk. Overall, there is no strong evidence that increasing coffee or tea consumption can lead to a lower melanoma risk. We observed a decrease in melanoma risk among long-term coffee drinkers, but the lack of consistency in the results by dose and type cautioned against overinterpretation of the results.

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