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Hot Drinks Linked to Higher Esophageal Cancer Risk
Confirmed
In Short: A new study published in the International Journal of Cancer has linked drinking very hot beverages to a significantly higher risk of developing esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), a type of cancer that begins in the cells lining the esophagus.
Participants were asked about their preferred drinking temperature for hot drinks: warm, hot, or very hot. The study found that those who preferred very hot drinks had about three times the risk of developing ESCC compared to those who preferred warm drinks.
The study also showed that drinking six or more hot drinks per day was associated with a 71% higher risk of ESCC.
However, the risk of esophageal cancer remains relatively low. According to the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program, the incidence of esophageal SCC was 1.1 per 100,000 in 2023.
Dr. Gilbert Welch, a general internist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, noted that esophageal cancer is rare and that squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus is declining in incidence.
Dr. Harindra Jayasekara, MD, PhD, of Cancer Council Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, said that although residual confounding is impossible to rule out, the consistent association across different populations and exposure sources strengthens the case that the link is causal.
Dr. Aaron Sasson, chief of surgical oncology and co-director of the gastrointestinal oncology team at Stony Brook Cancer Center, explained that hotter liquids can cause thermal injuries to the esophagus, similar to burns on the skin, which could contribute to the development of esophageal cancer.
The study also found that the same link was not seen for esophageal adenocarcinoma, a type of cancer that develops in the lower part of the esophagus.
Drinking beverages at very hot temperatures was linked to a higher risk of one type of esophageal cancer, and simply allowing coffee or tea to cool before drinking it could potentially reduce some of that risk.
What this adds
The study adds to existing research that has connected very hot beverages, generally around 70°C (158°F), with esophageal cancer.
The findings suggest that abnormalities in trace-element status may be linked to dementia risk, although the observational nature of the data does not establish a causal relationship.
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.
- The participants answered questions about the number of hot drinks they consumed daily and their preferred drinking temperature: “very hot,” “hot,” “warm,” or “do not drink hot drinks.” However, the temperature categories were based on participants’ perceptions and did not correspond to measured beverage temperatures.
- As part of those studies, participants reported how they preferred hot drinks : warm, hot, or very hot.
- 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).
- After analyzing the data, the research team found that participants who preferred their drinks “very hot” had about three times the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, compared with those who preferred their drinks warm.
- 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.
- It’s worth noting that researchers did not measure the actual temperature of participants’ drinks—they only asked whether they preferred them “warm,” “hot,” or “very hot.” For context, the International Agency for Research on Cancer defines “very hot” beverages as those above 149°F.
- After an average 14.2 years and 11.1 years of followup, respectively, for the Million Women Study and UK Biobank, the researchers tallied the cases of esophageal cancer.
- Drinking six or more hot drinks per day was associated with a 71% higher risk of the disease.
- The study, published in the International Journal of Cancer, looked specifically at two major types of esophageal cancer: squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma (AC).
What's still developing
- The findings suggest that abnormalities in trace-element status may be linked to dementia risk, although the observational nature of the data does not establish a causal relationship.
- If the link is causal, consuming beverages “hot” instead of “very hot” could prevent an estimated 14% of new ESCC cases, or 440 cancers each year in the UK, researchers reported.
- 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.
- 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.
- Kim Kardashian revealed a health diagnosis that is related to her dad Robert Kardashian ’s fatal cancer.
- 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.
- The hotter the liquid, the higher the risk of a "thermal injury," the doctor told Fox News Digital.
- "In the United States, about 85% of all of our cancers are adenocarcinomas. So, the incidence of squamous carcinomas in the esophagus is quite low, just to put it into perspective," he noted.