By David  Liu and editing by Aimee Keenan-Green

A new study published in the May 17, 2011 online edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute suggests drinking lots of coffee, regular or decaffeinated, may help reduce risk for developing prostate cancer, particularly advanced prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is diagnosed in about 200,000 men each year in the United States.  Generally speaking, prostate cancer grows much slower than many other types of malignancies.  The disease still kill about 38,000 men each year.

The study, led by Kathryn Wilson of Harvard School of Public Health and colleagues, found men who drank six or more cups of coffee were 20 percent less likely to develop prostate cancer. The reduction in the risk for advanced prostate cancer in heavy drinkers was 60 percent.

Previous studies suggest coffee offers a range of health benefits including fighting Parkinson's disease, breast cancer, liver cancer, gallstone disease, and type 2 diabetes mellitus among other things.

Coffee is known to reduce the oxidative stress or inflammation, and regulate insulin, both of which may lower the risk of prostate cancer, However, how coffee specifically and directly affects the risk of prostate cancer is unknown.

The study involved 47,911 men in the U.S. who were enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.  During the 22-year follow-up, surveys on coffee consumption were conducted every four years and during the follow-up, 5,035 cases of prostate cancer were identified including 642 fatal or metastatic or advanced cases.

The researchers found men who drank six or more cups of coffee each day were at 20 percent reduced risk for any sort of prostate cancer and 60 percent reduced risk for advanced prostate cancer.  Even drinking three cups of coffee a day was associated with a 30 percent reduction in the risk for metastatic prostate cancer.

Coffee drinkers were also more likely to smoke and less likely to engage in physical activity, the authors said.

While coffee may offer some health benefits, one must be aware that this beverage can also potentially cause health problems.

M.S. Butt and M.T. Sultan of the University of Agriculture in Faisalabad, Pakistan published a review in the April 2011 issue of Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition suggesting coffee may "raise serum cholesterol, posing a possible threat to coronary health, for example, myocardial and cerebral infarction, insomnia, and cardiovascular complications."

There are many thing men can do to help them reduce risk of developing prostate cancer.  Studies suggest low intake of meat and dairy products, sufficient exposure to sunshine or taking vitamin D supplements, a healthy diet, and physical exercise may all help cut the risk.