Medicine in the News

Caffeine May Kill Skin Cancer Cells

• New study discovers that caffeine may help kill off human cells damaged by UV light (major trigger of skin cancer)

• The study only applies to non-melanoma skin cancers, which do not metastasize or cause death in many cases

• The study of more than 90,000 Caucasian women found that with every cup of coffee consumed, there was a 5 percent decrease in the risk of developing skin cancer

How does it work?

• The UV rays can cause DNA to mutate or become cancerous

• Cellular suicide (apoptosis)=when the cells become damaged by UV light, cells initiate this suicide program

• Without caffeine, 1/500 cells will experience apoptosis when exposed to UV, but with caffeine, 1/200 cells undergo apoptosis

Cellular Suicide

• The normal cellular response when DNA is damaged is to activate a protein to initiate repair (Protein=ATR)

• ATR is caffeine’s target in the cell—Cells that are dividing, precancerous, or damaged need more ATR, but with caffeine, ATR is suppressed

• In this way, most of the cells that are likely to become cancerous are killed before they can do so

Caffeine and Sunscreen

• The study points out that, obviously, decaffeinated coffee does not have the same effect

• Also, the study reveals that it would take regularly drinking six cups of coffee a day to decrease the risk of skin cancer by 30 percent

• “Caffeine itself is a potent sunscreen,” however it should not replace topical sunscreen used today

Conclusion

• http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29409056/