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Hot Drinks Linked to Higher Esophageal Cancer Risk
Confirmed
In Short: The study, published in the International Journal of Cancer, found that after adjusting for the number of hot drinks consumed, the risk for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma was significantly higher for those who preferred hot or very hot drinks compared to those who preferred warm drinks.
Researchers analyzed data from over 977,000 participants in the Million Women Study and UK Biobank, identifying 1,045 cases of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
Participants were asked about their preferred drinking temperature: warm, hot, or very hot. Those who preferred very hot drinks had a significantly higher risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
Drinking very hot beverages was associated with a threefold higher risk of developing esophageal squamous cell carcinoma than consuming warm beverages, according to the study.
The findings suggest that consuming beverages “hot” instead of “very hot” could prevent an estimated 14% of new esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cases, or 440 cancers each year in the UK.
Esophageal cancer is rare, with an incidence of 1.1 per 100,000 in 2023, according to the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program.
Dr. Harindra Jayasekara, who studies risk factors for esophageal cancer, noted that the consistent association across different populations and exposure sources, along with the dose-response pattern with frequency, strengthens the case that the link is causal.
Dr. Gilbert Welch, a general internist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, emphasized that esophageal cancer is rare and that squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus is declining in incidence.
Participants reported their preferred drinking temperature based on their perceptions, and the temperature categories did not correspond to measured beverage temperatures.
Kim Kardashian recently revealed a health diagnosis related to her father Robert Kardashian's fatal esophageal cancer, highlighting the importance of understanding risk factors and early detection.
The study adds to existing research linking hot beverage consumption to esophageal cancer risk, but does not establish a causal relationship.
The research did not measure the actual temperature of participants’ drinks, only their preferred temperature categories.
Background
New research suggests that muscle loss in middle age is associated with a higher risk of developing dementia.
What's confirmed
- In the new work, published in the International Journal of Cancer, Keren Papier, PhD, of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, and colleagues analyzed data from more than 977,000 participants in the Million Women Study and UK Biobank.
What's still developing
- USA: Data from participants in the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center showed that lower plasma iron and higher plasma selenium levels were each associated with an increased risk of dementia.
- Rubenstein, MD, of the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, who specializes in esophageal disease, said the new study and an earlier one that also analyzed data from the UK Biobank are the first to demonstrate the link between beverage temperatures and ESCC in a Western population.
- The study of nearly 1 million people is consistent with previous research from countries such as Iran and China, where ESCC is much more common, and with the International Agency for Research on Cancer classification of beverages consumed above 65 °C (149 °F) as “probably carcinogenic” to humans based on limited epidemiologic and experimental evidence.
- In a recent study published in the International Journal of Cancer, researchers at the University of Oxford analyzed data from nearly 1 million middle-aged and older adults participating in two large, long-running UK health studies: the Million Women Study and UK Biobank.
- They identified 1,045 cases of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (the second most common type, starting in the lining) and 1,303 cases of adenocarcinoma (the most common type, which starts in gland cells).
- Luckily, the lead researcher says there's a "simple step" to minimize your overall risk...without giving anything up.
- About 43 to 44% of participants said they drank six or more hot drinks per day, and roughly 15% said they preferred their drinks “very hot.” Researchers then used health records to track who went on to develop esophageal cancer.
- While Kim’s diagnosis may have a connection to the esophageal cancer that killed her father at just 59, the risk of the reality TV star’s condition developing into the disease is small.
- Without treatment, esophagitis can lead to a condition called Barrett’s esophagus, which can raise the risk of developing esophageal cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic.
- Robert died at 59 in September 2003 following a battle with esophageal cancer.
- “He had esophageal cancer, and I think he died six or seven weeks after diagnosis.” She added, “I don’t think he could accept himself that it was terminal, but he never used those words with us.” For her part, Kim has credited Robert, who worked on the infamous O.J.
- Dr. Aaron Sasson, chief of surgical oncology and co-director of the gastrointestinal oncology team at Stony Brook Cancer Center in New York, said it’s been known that drinking hot beverages or liquids can be irritating to the esophagus and that it could contribute to the development of esophageal cancer.