Coffee and Tea consumption linked to lower risk of certain head and neck cancers
In a recent analysis combining data from over a dozen studies, consuming coffee and tea has been associated with a lower risk of head and neck cancers (HNCs), a major global health concern with increasing rates in low- and middle-income countries.
Prevailing results on the association between coffee and tea consumption and HNCs have been inconsistent. To shed new light on this relationship, researchers examined data from 14 studies conducted by various scientists affiliated with the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology (INHANCE) consortium, a global research collaboration.
Participants in these studies reported their intake of caffeinated coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and tea in cups per day, week, month, or year. When researchers pooled information for 9,548 HNC patients and 15,783 cancer-free controls, they found that:
- Drinking more than 4 cups of caffeinated coffee daily was linked to a 17% decrease in the overall risk of HNCs, a 30% decrease in oral cavity cancer risk, and a 22% decrease in oropharyngeal cancer risk compared to non-coffee drinkers.
- Consuming 3-4 cups of caffeinated coffee daily was associated with a 41% lower risk of hypopharyngeal cancer (a type of cancer at the base of the throat).
- Decaffeinated coffee consumption was linked to a 25% lower probability of oral cavity cancer. Tea consumption was associated with 29% lower risks of hypopharyngeal cancer.
- Consuming 1 cup or less of tea daily was associated with a 9% lower overall risk of HNCs and a 27% lower risk of hypopharyngeal cancer, but consuming more than one cup was associated with 38% higher risks of laryngeal cancer.
"Although previous studies have explored coffee and tea consumption and reduced cancer risk, this study underscores their varied effects on different subtypes of head and neck cancers, including the observation that decaffeinated coffee also had a positive impact," said Yuan-Chin Amy Lee, the study’s lead author from Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah’s School of Medicine.
Lee noted that coffee and tea drinking habits are complex, and these findings need further validation through additional studies exploring the potential impact of coffee and tea on cancer risk reduction.
The study findings are available online, published on December 23 in the journal Cancer, edited by the American Cancer Society.
