Technology and Science · updated 54m ago · 3 min read
Oxford Study Links Very Hot Tea And Coffee To Higher Oesophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Risk
Very hot beverages (65°C+) linked to about threefold increased oesophageal cancer risk. Nearly 1 million participants analyzed; largest study to date.
Which oesophageal cancer types the temperature increase applies to.
4 of 5 outlets skipped it: one in seven UK SCC cases could be avoided.
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Both outlets limit the temperature link to SCC, not adenocarcinoma.
Oxford links heat to SCC
A new UK study led by Dr Keren Papier at Oxford Population Health links drinking “very hot” or “hot” beverages to a higher risk of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), with the research funded by Cancer Research UK.
“people who reported drinking ‘very hot’ or ‘hot’ beverages may have a higher risk”
The study analysed data from around 980,000 UK adults through the UK Biobank and the Million Women Study, tracking participants’ health records for over 10 years to see whether they developed oesophageal SCC.
Compared with people who reported drinking their beverages “warm”, the researchers found those who preferred their drinks “hot” had nearly a two times higher risk of oesophageal SCC, and those who drank them “very hot” had a three times higher risk.
Cancer Research UK notes that oesophageal SCC is relatively uncommon in the UK, with people having around a 1% lifetime risk of being diagnosed, and the study did not measure actual drink temperatures.
The findings build on international research that has linked mate at very high temperatures, as is typical in South America, to increased risk of certain oesophageal cancers, according to Papier’s explanation of what was previously less clear for Western populations.
Risk rises with frequency
The study’s results also tied risk to how often people drank hot beverages, with the Guardian reporting that after controlling for drink temperature, daily consumption of six or more versus fewer than six hot drinks was associated with a 71% increase in SCC risk.T
In the same analysis, the Guardian said the study found a threefold greater SCC risk for “very hot” versus “warm” temperature, but “not with AC risk,” distinguishing SCC from adenocarcinoma.T
Fiona Osgun, head of health information at Cancer Research UK, said the research adds to evidence that “drinking very hot drinks could increase the risk of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma” and advised people to “let a cuppa cool down a little before taking a sip.”
The Guardian also emphasized that the conclusions were based on participants’ estimation of how hot drinks were rather than exact temperatures, and it quoted a study limitation that perceived temperature is “inherently subjective.”T
The study’s framing, as described by the Guardian, was that temperature and frequency could be “useful targets for SCC prevention,” while the overall chance of developing oesophageal cancer remains low.T
What to do next
Cancer Research UK’s coverage stressed that the study did not find tea and coffee themselves increased SCC risk, but rather that the risk was associated with the temperature of any hot beverage consumed.
“More research is still needed to understand exactly how drink temperature may affect our risk of developing oesophageal SCC”
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is cited in the Cancer Research UK article as classifying drinking very hot beverages (above 65C) as ‘probably carcinogenic’, a threshold the study discusses as likely hotter than typical UK cups.
The Guardian reported that health authorities could use the findings to encourage the public to consume cooler drinks and fewer very hot drinks, and it quoted the study team saying one in seven cases of SCC in the UK “could be avoided” if people moved from “very hot” to a temperature more representative of “hot.”T
Dr Keren Papier said the research “adds to existing evidence that drinking very hot drinks could increase the risk of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma,” and the Cancer Research UK article quoted her saying “More research is now needed to understand exactly how drink temperature may affect our risk.”
The Guardian also quoted Professor Muy-Teck Teh, warning that the reliance on self-reported temperatures may have affected the findings because “perceived drink temperature is inherently subjective,” and it said this “complicates interpretation of causality.”T