Caffeine is used to kill skin cancer cells

A cup of coffee a day can help prevent skin cancer. A new study shows that caffeine helps eliminate human cells damaged by ultraviolet rays, which is one of the key points for some forms of skin cancer.

The findings, published Feb. 26 in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, may one day lead to the development of caffeine-containing creams or ointments that help reverse the effects of ultraviolet damage on humans. , prevent some forms of skin cancer.

Nonmelanoma skin cancer rarely causes metastasis or death but is the most common form of cancer in humans, over one million new cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer each year in the United States alone. However, cancer of melanoma is one of the most rapidly fatal cancers.

Exposure to ultraviolet light is one of the most important factors causing nonmelanoma cancer. Light rays damage the DNA of skin cells , from which they mutate or become cancer cells.

Some studies have shown that people who drink coffee or tea often seem less affected by nonmelanoma skin cancer . A recent study involving 90,000 Caucasian women showed that each cup of caffeine-containing coffee was equivalent to a 5% reduction in the risk of one of these skin cancers. (Caffeine-removed coffee is not effective).

Caffeine also protects against mice that are exposed to ultraviolet rays, whether those mice take the digestive caffeine or are put into the skin.

According to Paul Nghiem of the University of Washington, who is a member of the research team, researchers do not know how caffeine can get that cancer prevention.

Cells commit suicide

The common reaction of cells when DNA is destroyed is activating a protein called ATR to help with repair work.

But when it is destroyed by ultraviolet rays, some cells will start a program called a suicide cell program to prevent them from developing into cancer cells. When caffeine is present, it seems that more cells are stimulated to initiate a suicide sequence (called apoptosis) while only one of the 500 cells undergoes apoptosis when exposed to ultraviolet rays. But according to Nghiem, when there was caffeine, this figure was one of 200 cells.

By first studying the effects of caffeine in human cells, Nghiem and colleagues have determined that ATR is actually the goal of caffeine in cells. Cells that are destroyed, in the precancerous stage or are dividing need more ATR, and if you suppress ATR with caffeine 'you can selectively destroy those cells with those characteristics' . Therefore cells that are at high risk of developing cancer cells will be destroyed before they enter that stage.

Of course this discovery does not mean that you should start taking a drink for coffee or tea. Mr. Nghiem said: 'We have not suggested that people should change their drinks' . You need to regularly drink 6 cups of coffee a day to reduce the risk of skin cancer by 30%, and tea only works with half of coffee.

But the study's findings could be used to develop a topical application of caffeine targeting endangered skin cells because caffeine seems to make those cells easier to destroy and ' Caffeine itself can become an effective solar barrier, ' Nghiem said.

However, Nghiem also stressed that it took several years to get that application.

This new study is funded by the National Institutes of Health, Harvard Skin Care SPORE Cancer Development Award and Shiseido Group.