Drinking coffee and tea might help protect people from certain types of cancer in the head and neck area, according to a large review of previous studies.
Researchers looked at data from over 25,000 people and found that drinking coffee or tea regularly was linked to a lower chance of getting cancers in the mouth, throat, and nearby areas. The study was published in the journal Cancer.
Head and neck cancer includes cancers in the mouth, tongue, throat, voice box, and parts of the nose. It is the seventh most common cancer in the world. These cancers are becoming more common, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
Known risk factors include smoking, drinking alcohol, and infections like HPV, but researchers have also been studying how diet and lifestyle choices—like drinking coffee or tea—might play a role.
In the past, some studies suggested that coffee and tea might protect against head and neck cancer, while others found no strong link. To better understand this, a team of scientists gathered and analyzed data from 14 separate studies around the world. These studies were all part of a global research effort called the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology consortium.
The researchers compared the coffee and tea drinking habits of 9,548 people with head and neck cancer to 15,783 people without cancer. Participants had answered questions about how much coffee or tea they drank each day, week, month, or year. The questions also asked whether the coffee was regular or decaffeinated.
The findings showed that people who drank more than four cups of caffeinated coffee every day had a 17% lower chance of getting head and neck cancer overall compared to those who didn’t drink coffee at all. These coffee drinkers had a 30% lower risk of mouth cancer and a 22% lower risk of throat cancer.
For a rarer type of cancer located at the bottom of the throat (called hypopharyngeal cancer), drinking three to four cups of regular coffee daily was linked to a 41% lower risk. Even people who drank decaffeinated coffee had a 25% lower chance of getting cancer in the mouth.
Tea showed some benefits too. Tea drinkers had a 29% lower risk of hypopharyngeal cancer. People who drank one cup or less of tea per day had a slightly lower risk of head and neck cancer overall and a 27% lower risk of hypopharyngeal cancer.
However, drinking more than one cup of tea per day was surprisingly linked to a 38% higher risk of cancer in the voice box (larynx).
Dr. Yuan-Chin Amy Lee, a senior author of the study from the University of Utah, said that while many people already believed coffee and tea might reduce cancer risk, this new analysis showed how the effects can vary depending on the type of cancer and the kind of drink. Interestingly, even decaffeinated coffee seemed to have some benefits.
She also noted that people’s coffee and tea habits are often complicated. Some may add milk or sugar, some may drink it very hot, and others may combine it with smoking or alcohol. These factors might affect the results, so more research is needed to fully understand how coffee and tea protect against cancer.
In conclusion, this study adds to growing evidence that moderate coffee or tea drinking could have protective effects against some cancers in the head and neck.
However, the results also suggest that not all types of tea drinking are beneficial, and the effects may vary by the exact location of the cancer. It’s a promising area of research, but scientists agree that more studies are needed to better understand how these popular drinks influence cancer risk.
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The research findings can be found in Cancer.
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