"People who drank coffee on a daily or almost daily basis had about half the risk of HCC 'hepticellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer] compared with those who never drank coffee...In addition, the risk of HCC decreased with an increase in the amount of coffee consumed each day.

There was no distinction made between coffee with caffeine and coffee without. However, the report pointed out that the study was conducted in Japan, where decaffeinated coffee is rarely consumed.

In: Journal of the National Cancer Inst., vol. 97, 2005. By: Drs. Inoue, Yoshimi, Sobue & Tsugane, Epidemiology & Prevention Div. and Statistics and Cancer Control Div., Res. Ctr. for Cancer Prev., National Cancer Inst., Tokyo, Japan.

Note: Caffeine, and we would caution against overuse, is broken down in the body into caffeic acid, an anti-cancer substance also found in apples and soybeans.