Study: Caffeine, exercise can affect cancer rates

WASHINGTON – Researchers have found a connection between exercise, caffeine and cancer.

In a Rutgers University study using mice as test subjects, researchers found that after drinking caffeine, mice that exercised had 62 percent fewer non-cancerous tumors compared to other control groups, Medical News Today reports.

Of the test group, the size of the tumors also shrank by 85 percent compared to the other groups.

In this case, the mice were bred for high rates of skin cancer. Researchers exposed them to UVB radiation, the component of sunlight known to cause cancer.

Researchers also found caffeine and exercise lessened certain types of inflammation in the body.

A doctor associated with the study said in a statement that the findings may be extrapolated to humans.

Skin cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute.

WTOP’s Del Walters contributed to this report. Follow WTOP on Twitter.

(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)

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