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Oxford Study Links Hot Drinks to Oesophageal Cancer

healthSep 10, 2026·380 words·3 min read

University of Oxford researchers have linked a preference for very hot tea and coffee to a common cancer of the food pipe. The study, published in the International Journal of Cancer and funded by Cancer Research UK, tracked almost 980,000 middle-aged British adults for more than a decade. Participants who said they liked their drinks "very hot" were more than three times as likely to develop oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) as those who drank them merely warm, while people who chose "hot" drinks faced 1.7 times the risk.

Scientists call a drink "very hot" at 65 degrees Celsius or hotter. Doctors think the heat hurts the cells in the food pipe. Tea from a boiled kettle is nearly 100 degrees, and about 90 degrees in the cup. A little milk does not cool it much. The team did not measure the real temperature. They asked people how hot they liked their drinks.

The study says about 14 per cent of British cases could be stopped if people let drinks cool first. About 9,500 people in the United Kingdom get this cancer each year and 7,900 die. Cancer Research UK said the risk is still quite low. It told people to wait until a cup is comfortable. One expert warned that the study shows a link, not proof.

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