Drinking very hot tea or coffee may more than triple the risk of oesophageal cancer, a major study involving nearly one million people in the United Kingdom has found.
The study, published in the International Journal of Cancer, found that people who preferred their drinks “very hot” had more than three times the risk of developing oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) compared with those who preferred warm beverages.
Researchers from the University of Oxford analysed data from approximately 980,000 middle-aged adults enrolled in the UK Biobank and Million Women Study. Participants provided information about their hot-drink consumption, including their preferred drink temperature and the number of beverages they consumed each day.
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Over an average follow-up of more than 11 years, 2,348 cases of oesophageal cancer were recorded.
The researchers found that people who consumed six or more hot drinks daily had a 71 per cent higher risk of oesophageal SCC than those who drank fewer than six, after accounting for their preferred drink temperature.
The risk also rose with the preferred temperature of the beverages. Those who liked their drinks “hot” had almost twice the risk of oesophageal cancer compared with those who preferred warm drinks, while those who preferred them “very hot” had more than three times the risk.
Oesophageal SCC is the most common form of oesophageal cancer worldwide. The oesophagus, or food pipe, is the muscular tube that carries food and drinks from the mouth to the stomach.
Scientists believe repeated exposure to very hot liquids may damage cells lining the oesophagus, causing inflammation that could contribute to cancer development.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies beverages consumed at temperatures above 65°C as probably capable of causing cancer in humans.
However, researchers cautioned that the study does not prove that drinking hot tea or coffee directly causes cancer. Participants reported how hot they preferred their beverages, but the actual temperatures were not measured.
Experts said the findings should therefore be interpreted as a strong association rather than proof of cause and effect.
Lead researcher Keren Papier of Oxford Population Health advised people who enjoy tea and coffee to allow their drinks to cool before consumption.
Sridhar Papaiah Susheela, a radiation oncologist with ClinicSpots, told Healthline that the concern is not the tea or coffee itself, but the excessive heat, which may trigger chronic inflammation in the oesophagus.
He explained that, unlike the mouth and tongue, which are highly sensitive to heat and quickly signal a burn, the oesophagus has fewer pain receptors. As a result, people may swallow scalding liquids without immediately realising the damage being caused to the tissue.
According to Susheela, repeated exposure to excessive heat may lead to chronic inflammation over time, creating an environment that could favour the development of cancer.
Although the overall risk of oesophageal cancer remains relatively low, experts say avoiding scalding-hot beverages is a simple precaution.
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