Next time
when you pick up your cup of coffee or tea, watch out for the temperature.
Drinking very hot beverages can cause cancer of the esophagus. An international
working group of 23 scientists has evaluated the carcinogenicity of drinking
coffee, tea and other “very hot” beverages, described as those over 65°
C. Epidemiological studies conducted by
the team of international researchers showed positive associations between
cancer of the esophagus and drinking very hot beverages.
Finding
of the study show beverages over 65° C, including tea and coffee, are
probably carcinogenic to humans. However, the agency didn’t find any conclusive
evidence for carcinogenic effects of drinking coffee or mate – a South American
caffeine-rich drink – at temperature that are not very hot. Both had been
classified as “possible cancerogenic to human” since 1991, when the last
evaluation was done.
In
India, esophageal cancer is among the top 10 cancers in terms of incidence. However,
in terms of mortality, it is the third highest, accounting for over 63,000
deaths annually, according to the 2013 Global Burden of Cancer report. Deaths from
the disease in India have increased by around 65% in last decade. Globally, esophageal
cancer is the eighth most common, and one of the main causes of cancer deaths,
with around 4 lakh fatalities recorded in 2012.
These results
suggest that drinking a very hot beverage is one probable cause of esophageal
cancer and that it is the temperature, rather than the drinks themselves, that
appears to be responsible. The majority of esophageal cancer cases occur in the
parts of Asia, South America and East Africa where drinking very hot beverages
is common. The result also show that for some types of cancer, there are hints
that coffee may be beneficial if consumed at below 65° C. the study found that at
normal temperatures, there was some data pointing to a lower risk of cancer of
the uterus, liver and breast.
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