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Three coffees a day halves your liver cancer risk

Three coffees a day halves your liver cancer risk

Don't fight the urge to go back for that third cup of coffee today -- it might just save your life.

According to an analyses of 16 years of research, drinking three cups of coffee a day may reduce your risk of liver cancer by 50 per cent.

The researchers focused specifically on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of liver cancer, and found that drinking coffee reduced the risk of developing the disease by 40 per cent. Those who drank three cups were protected by an additional 10 per cent to cut their risk by half.

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"Our research confirms past claims that coffee is good for your health, and particularly the liver," study author Dr. Carlo La Vecchia says in a statement.

La Vecchia says that the correlation between coffee and your liver might not be direct -- coffee has been proven to prevent a major risk factor for liver disease, diabetes.

"The favourable effect of coffee on liver cancer might be mediated by coffee’s proven prevention of diabetes, a known risk factor for the disease, or for its beneficial effects on cirrhosis and liver enzymes," he adds.

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Still, La Vecchia acknowledges it's difficult to prove a cause-and-effect relationship between coffee-drinking and HCC, in part because patients suffering from liver cancer or digestive diseases may voluntarily reduce their coffee intake.

"However, coffee has been shown to affect liver enzymes and development of cirrhosis, and therefore could protect against liver carcinogenesis," the study authors conclude.

Liver cancer is the third most common cause of cancer death, and the is the sixth most common cancer in the world. HCC accounts for more than 90 per cent of liver cancer cases worldwide.

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While primary liver cancer is still relatively rare in North America, the Canadian Cancer Society says it's on the rise.

"This is the only cancer in Canada for which mortality is actually increasing," Dr. Morris Sherman, a liver specialist at Toronto General Hospital, tells CBC News.

Major risk factors for primary liver cancer are hepatitis B and C, which are avoidable though vaccinations for hepatitis B and greater control of hepatitis C transmissions. Alcohol consumption, obesity, diabetes and tobacco use are other risk factors.