Love Your Tea and Coffee Piping Hot? It May Raise Cancer Risk
What Happened
A large study involving 977,282 adults found that drinking very hot tea or coffee was linked to a threefold higher risk of developing esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), a type of cancer affecting the food pipe. Researchers tracked participants for more than a decade and recorded 2,348 cases of esophageal cancer. The study also found that people who drank six or more cups a day faced a higher risk, regardless of whether they preferred tea or coffee.
Key Takeaways
The risk appears to be linked to the temperature of the drink, not the drink itself. Researchers suggest allowing tea or coffee to cool before drinking as a simple way to reduce the risk of this type of esophageal cancer.