Drinking very hot beverages could triple cancer risk, large study finds

Key Points:

• A UK study of nearly one million adults found that drinking very hot coffees and teas is associated with a three-fold increased risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), the most common form of esophageal cancer worldwide.
• Participants who preferred their drinks hot had almost twice the risk, and those who preferred very hot drinks had more than three times the risk compared to those who preferred warm drinks; consuming six or more hot drinks daily further increased the risk by 71%.
• The study, published in the International Journal of Cancer, suggests that about 14% of new esophageal SCC cases in the UK could be prevented by drinking beverages at lower temperatures.
• Despite the increased relative risk, esophageal cancer remains relatively rare, accounting for about 2% of cancer cases in the UK, with a lifetime diagnosis risk of around 1%.
• Experts recommend letting hot drinks cool below 65°C (149°F) before consumption, though the study relied on self-reported temperature preferences and cannot establish causality; smoking remains the leading risk factor for esophageal SCC.