Very hot drinks linked to higher risk of oesophageal cancer: study

Drinking very hot tea and coffee could triple the risk of developing oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

The world’s largest study examining the link between hot drinks and oesophageal cancer has found a possible connection.

The study, led by Dr Keren Papier of the University of Oxford, analysed hot drink consumption among almost 980,000 people in the UK over 14 years. Participants reported whether they preferred their drinks “very hot”, “hot” or “warm”, rather than providing exact temperatures.

Published in the International Journal of Cancer, the study found that consuming drinks at a “very hot” rather than “warm” temperature was associated with a threefold higher risk of SCC, after accounting for consumption frequency.

The researchers also found that, after accounting for drink temperature, people who consumed six or more hot drinks a day had a 71 per cent higher risk of SCC than those who consumed fewer than six. There was little association between hot drink consumption and oesophageal adenocarcinoma, the other major form of oesophageal cancer.

Similar associations have previously been reported in studies from Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East, where consuming tea or mate at temperatures of 70C or above has been linked to a higher risk of oesophageal cancer.

Hot drinks are thought to increase the risk by causing heat damage to cells lining the oesophagus. Smoking and alcohol are also major risk factors for the disease.

The researchers said their findings suggest that reducing the temperature and frequency of very hot drinks could help prevent SCC.

Cancer Research UK health information head Fiona Osgun advised people concerned about the risk to wait until a drink is comfortable to consume rather than drinking it while very hot, reported The Guardian.

However, Professor Muy-Teck Teh of Queen Mary University of London noted that the study relied on participants’ perceptions of drink temperature. He said this subjectivity could complicate interpretation of whether temperature itself causes the increased risk.