A new study found people who drink more than four cups of caffeinated coffee a day have a 17% lower chance of developing head and neck cancers overall compared with those who do not
Coffee and tea drinkers have a lower risk of developing some head and neck cancers, according to new research.
A new study found people who drink more than four cups of caffeinated coffee a day have a 17% lower chance of developing head and neck cancers overall compared with those who do not.
The risk was reduced for cancers of the oral cavity and the oropharynx – part of the throat just behind the mouth.
And drinking even one cup of tea a day or less is associated with 9% lower odds of head and neck cancers than non-tea drinkers, according to the researchers.
Writing in the journal Cancer, the researchers said they also found drinking decaffeinated coffee was associated with a reduced risk of oral cavity cancer, suggesting it is not just caffeine that has an “anti-cancer effect”.
While the new study does not prove tea and coffee are themselves protective against such cancers, experts say the findings help to shed light on what has been a much debated area with inconsistent results.
They concluded: “Our findings support associations on the protective effects of coffee and tea consumption on HNC risk.
“Future studies are needed to address geographical differences in types of coffee and tea to improve our understanding of the association of coffee and tea and global head and neck cancer risk.”
The team also found drinking more than one cup of tea a day is associated with a 38% higher chance of laryngeal cancer, while drinking caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee did not.
They said this is because tea drinking potentially increases the chance of gastroesophageal reflux disease, which is linked to a higher risk of laryngeal cancer.
According to Cancer Research UK, there are about 12,800 new head and neck cancer cases and about 4,100 related deaths in the UK every year.
Senior study author Dr Yuan-Chin Amy Lee said: “While there has been prior research on coffee and tea consumption and reduced risk of cancer, this study highlighted their varying effects with different subsites of head and neck cancer including the observation that even decaffeinated coffee had some positive impact.”
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