Archive · 10 Sep 2026
Very Hot Drinks Linked to Tripled Oesophageal Cancer Risk
Researchers studied nearly 980,000 people in the UK.
They wanted to know whether the temperature of drinks was connected to cancer of the food pipe.
People who drank beverages described as very hot had about three times the risk of one type called squamous cell carcinoma.
Very hot meant at least 65 degrees Celsius.
Drinking six or more hot drinks each day was also linked to higher risk.
The researchers said the heat, rather than tea or coffee itself, was the main concern.
Repeated heat may injure the lining of the food pipe over time.
The study did not find the same link with oesophageal adenocarcinoma, another type of the cancer.
University of Oxford researchers analyzed nearly 980,000 adults in the UK over more than a decade.
People who preferred very hot drinks had about three times the risk of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma compared with warm-drink consumers.
The study defined very hot beverages as those at 65 degrees Celsius or above.
Drinking six or more hot beverages daily was associated with a 71% higher risk.
The findings concerned drink temperature rather than tea or coffee themselves and did not apply to oesophageal adenocarcinoma.
- Who
- University of Oxford researchers analyzed nearly 980,000 UK adults, including participants from the UK Biobank and Million Women Study.
- What
- The study found that consuming very hot drinks was associated with about three times the risk of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
- When
- Participants were followed for more than a decade; the study was published in the International Journal of Cancer.
- Where
- The participants were in the UK.
- Why
- Researchers examined whether the temperature and frequency of hot-drink consumption were associated with oesophageal cancer risk.
- Researchers
- University of Oxford researchers
- Participants
- Nearly 980,000 adults in the UK
- Follow-up
- More than a decade
- Very hot threshold
- 65 degrees Celsius or above
- Reported risk
- About three times the risk of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma compared with warm drinks
- Frequency finding
- Six or more hot drinks daily was associated with a 71% higher risk
- Publication
- International Journal of Cancer
- Cancer type distinction
- The association was found for squamous cell carcinoma, not oesophageal adenocarcinoma
