Thermal Injury Triples Esophageal Cancer Risk From Hot Drinks
People who drink tea or coffee at very high temperatures face a 3.17 times higher relative risk of developing esophageal squamous cell carcinoma compared to those who prefer warm beverages, according to a large epidemiological evaluation.
The investigation analyzed data from 977,282 participants across the UK Biobank and the Million Women Study. Researchers found that the hazard increases by 69 percent for those who favor hot drinks generally, and climbs to 71 percent among individuals consuming six or more hot cups daily.
Oxford Researchers and World Health Organization Classifications
The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified beverages exceeding 65 degrees Celsius as probably carcinogenic to humans back in 2016, following evidence linking hot herbal infusions like mate to esophageal tumors. Keren Papier, a nutritional epidemiologist at the University of Oxford, stated that while international studies previously linked very hot herbal drinks to esophageal cancer, the degree to which this applies to typical consumption temperatures in Western societies remained unclear.
Familiar hot-beverage habits do not pose a cancer risk due to the natural chemical makeup of tea or coffee, according to clinical nutritionist Aisha Saqr. Instead, the biological threat stems directly from the liquid’s temperature upon reaching the esophageal lining. Repeated thermal injury damages the mucosal tissue, triggering chronic inflammation and cellular changes that can eventually form tumors over years of continuous exposure.
Lowering Beverage Temperatures to Prevent Tumors
Cooling hot liquids down before drinking could prevent roughly 14 percent of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cases, which translates to avoiding 440 diagnoses annually in the United Kingdom alone. The study did not include direct physical measurements of liquid temperatures, relying instead on participant self-reported preferences such as very hot, hot, or warm.
Researchers noted that temperatures below the 65-degree Celsius threshold might also be linked to elevated risk, signaling a need for further clinical investigation. Studies on animals showed that water consumed at 70 degrees Celsius promotes pre-cancerous lesions and tissue damage in the esophagus, whereas cooler liquids do not produce those same cellular effects.
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