"Each person has to think about their metabolism of caffeine and other effects that might not be desirable," she says. "We don't want to send the message that people should be drinking lots and lots of coffee...Each person has a risk for other caffeine-related diseases."

The American Cancer Society's Dr. Ted Gansler, director of medical content, says coffee lovers can still enjoy their morning drink.


"Over the years, quite a few studies have looked for associations of coffee consumption and various cancers. A few found some protection, a few others found increased risk, and most found no significant effect," he wrote in an e-mail to DOTmed News. "I think the bottom line is that people who enjoy coffee can continue to do so without concern about cancer risk."

In order to study these findings in greater detail, Hashibe hopes to conduct a cohort study, which could make the association between coffee and cancer more definitive.

"It will be nice to replicate this association in another study design and population," she says.

Hashibe also wants to look at green tea intake in China, where there is a low incidence of head and neck cancers.

"That's an area that could be interesting," she says.

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