Hot Drinks Can Triple Your Risk of a Certain Cancer: Study

Few people get excited to drink a room-temperature cup of coffee, but you might want to rethink ordering your drink extra hot in the future. That’s because new research specifically links regularly drinking very hot beverages to a significantly higher risk of developing a certain type of esophageal cancer.

For the study, which was published in the International Journal of Cancer, researchers analyzed self-reported data on drinking habits from more than 977,000 middle-aged adults in the U.K. The participants were specifically asked about the temperature of their drinks, including whether they liked to have them “warm,” “hot,” “very hot,” or didn’t drink hot drinks at all. The researchers also gathered information on how often participants had these beverages.

During the study period, which stretched about 14 years, 2,348 people were diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus, the tube that carries liquids and food from your mouth to your stomach.

Nearly half of the study participants said they had six or more hot drinks a day, and about 15% said that they liked their drinks to be very hot. After analyzing the data, the researchers discovered that the risk of developing a specific type of esophageal cancer called esophageal squamous cell carcinoma was nearly twice as high in people who liked their drinks hot compared to those who preferred to sip them warm. The cancer risk was threefold in those who said they liked their drinks to be very hot.

The researchers also found that having six or more hot drinks a day was linked with a 71% higher risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma compared to those who drank fewer.

The findings “provide clear evidence that temperature and frequency of hot drink consumption represent useful targets for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma prevention,” the researchers wrote in the study.

Meet the experts: Sylvia Crowder, Ph.D., health outcomes and behavior researcher at Moffitt Cancer Center; Matthew Stanley, M.D., thoracic surgeon at the MemorialCare Cancer Institute at Long Beach Medical Center in Long Beach, CA.

This isn’t the first study to suggest a link between having hot drinks and a higher risk of esophageal cancer, making it fair to wonder if you really should reconsider your piping hot coffee habit.

“I take these findings seriously, particularly because of the size and duration of the study,” says Matthew Stanley, M.D., thoracic surgeon at the MemorialCare Cancer Institute at Long Beach Medical Center in Long Beach, CA “Nearly a million people were followed for more than a decade, and the association was seen specifically with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, which develops in the lining of the esophagus—the tissue that comes into direct contact with a hot beverage. That specificity is important.”

Here’s what else doctors want you to know.

What’s behind the link between hot drinks and esophageal cancer?

This study builds on a body of prior research connecting a hot drink habit with a higher risk of esophageal cancer. An older analysis of 59 studies published in the International Journal of Cancer found a link between having hot beverages and the development of esophageal cancer. “The available results strongly suggest that high-temperature beverage drinking increases the risk of esophageal cancer,” the researchers wrote.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) also lists “frequently drinking very hot liquids” as a potential risk factor for developing squamous cell esophageal cancer. This could be from long-term damage to the cells lining the esophagus from the hot liquids, according to the ACS.

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The latest findings “should be interpreted carefully,” says Sylvia Crowder, Ph.D., health outcomes and behavior researcher at Moffitt Cancer Center, noting that the study found an association—it didn’t prove that hot drinks cause cancer.

“It also does not mean that a normal morning cup of coffee is inherently dangerous or that people need to eliminate coffee,” she continues. “The more plausible explanation is repeated thermal injury from consuming beverages while they are scalding hot.”

Over time, that repeated injury and subsequent inflammation could lead to cellular damage and abnormal repair in the lining of the esophagus, Crowder says.

Dr. Stanley agrees with that theory. “Imagine exposing that delicate tissue to very high temperatures over and over again for decades,” he says. “Repeated irritation or minor burns followed by ongoing healing could potentially contribute to changes in the cells over time.”

What’s more, the study found a similar link between hot coffee and tea drinkers, suggesting that temperature, rather than caffeine or some other component of the drinks, was driving this association, Dr. Stanley says.

What counts as “very hot”?

This particular study didn’t actually measure the temperatures of drinks. Instead, the researchers relied on participants’ judgment on how hot their preferred drinks actually are.

Still, there is a general temperature range that raises a red flag. The ACS specifically calls out drinks that are 149°F or hotter, which is much hotter than a typical cup of coffee. Crowder also says drinks at this temperature are concerning, “particularly when they are consumed frequently.”

What’s the safest way to have hot drinks in the future?

Again, the study didn’t definitively prove that hot drinks cause esophageal cancer. But doctors say it’s a good idea to be mindful of the temperature of your drinks going forward.

Here’s what they suggest:

• Avoid drinking a beverage right after it has been boiled or prepared if it feels scalding hot. “Waiting several minutes, adding cool milk or water, or taking a small test sip can reduce exposure to very high temperatures,” Crowder says.
• Drink your beverages warm or comfortably hot—not scalding hot.
• Remove the lid from your travel mug. “Travel mugs and lids are designed to retain heat, which means your beverage may stay dangerously hot for much longer than you realize,” Dr. Stanley says.
• Pay attention to how many cups you have. Temperature is one factor, but drinking hot drinks throughout the day is also a concern.

If you love very hot drinks, Dr. Stanley suggests scaling back a little. “Try lowering the temperature by one level,” he says. “You don’t have to switch to an iced drink or even a lukewarm one to potentially reduce your exposure to very high temperatures.”