Caffeine 'cuts skin cancer risk'

Caffeine cuts the risk of skin cancer, according to the results of a new study which may be of interest to those utilising home care services.

While it was already known that drinking caffeinated beverages could lower the risk of the disease, a Rutgers study suggests that applying caffeine directly to the skin could also be beneficial.

The substance is believed to guard against skin cancer at a molecular level by inhibited ATR - a protein enzyme in the skin.

Researchers genetically modified and diminished ATR in one group of mice. These animals developed tumours at a slower rate, developed 69 per cent fewer tumours and four times fewer invasive tumours than the regular mice.

Allan Conney, director of the Susan Lehman Cullman Laboratory for Cancer Research, said: "Although it is known that coffee drinking is associated with a decreased risk of non-melanoma skin cancer, there now needs to be studies to determine whether topical caffeine inhibits sunlight-induced skin cancer."

In other news, a study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine revealed that a urine test could be used to detect the risk of prostate cancer.

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