Researchers conducting the largest study to date on hot beverage consumption and oesophageal cancer found that drinking very hot tea and coffee substantially increases risk of a specific cancer type. The analysis followed nearly 980,000 UK participants over 14 years and examined their drinking habits and health outcomes. The study, published in the International Journal of Cancer and led by Dr Keren Papier of the University of Oxford, determined that consuming drinks at a very hot temperature was associated with a threefold greater risk of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma compared to warm drinks. The temperature of beverages and consumption frequency both contributed to heightened risk, with daily consumption of six or more very hot drinks showing a 71% increase in risk compared to fewer than six.
The research findings were based on participants’ self-reported preferences for drink temperature in categories including very hot, hot, warm, or not consuming hot drinks at all. Notably, the study found no increased risk for adenocarcinoma, the other major form of oesophageal cancer. The UK results aligned with previous international studies from Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East, which identified drinking tea or mate at or above 70 degrees Celsius as a risk factor. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classified hot drinks as probably carcinogenic to humans in 2016, with heating thought to damage cells lining the oesophagus.
Experts recommended that individuals allow very hot beverages to cool to comfortable drinking temperatures as a preventive measure. Cancer Research UK researchers suggested that modifying drink temperature preferences could potentially prevent one in seven squamous cell carcinoma cases in the UK. However, they did not recommend that commercial establishments lower serving temperatures. Some scientists noted limitations in the research methodology, particularly the reliance on subjective self-reported temperatures rather than objective measurements, and questioned whether individuals with preference for very hot drinks might possess different biological sensitivities affecting cancer risk independently.
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