Rumor :Drinking coffee long-term can indeed cause cancer.
/✗:This is a wrong statement
In 1991, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a part of the World Health Organization, classified coffee as a “possible carcinogen.” IARC’s research at that time listed coffee and South American herbal teas as Group 2B carcinogens, alongside substances like chloroform and lead, suggesting an increased risk of bladder cancer associated with coffee consumption.
However, IARC has recently overturned its 1991 findings. A new research report published by the agency stated that the previous view on coffee increasing cancer risk was “not supported by sufficient evidence,” and coffee is no longer classified as a “possible carcinogen.”
IARC formed a 23-member professional investigation team to review over 1,000 publicly available articles related to “the carcinogenic potential of coffee.” The report indicated that drinking coffee has a strong antioxidant effect and does not cause cancer in the pancreas, breasts, or prostate. Moreover, coffee consumption may even reduce the risk of cancers such as endometrial and liver cancers.
While room-temperature coffee does not increase cancer risk, IARC also warned that drinking coffee above 65°C (or “excessively hot coffee”) raises the risk of esophageal cancer. In fact, consuming any hot beverage above 65°C, including hot tea, increases the risk of esophageal cancer. The report pointed out that experiments on mice showed that long-term consumption of beverages at 65°C to 70°C caused esophageal tumors in the animals.
Esophageal cancer is the eighth most common type of cancer and has a high fatality rate. Most esophageal cancer patients are found in Asia, the Americas, and East Africa, where hot beverages are popular. In contrast, people in Europe and North America prefer cooler coffee or tea.
The human esophagus is very fragile, and excessively hot beverages can burn the throat.
Long-term inflammation caused by such burns can increase the risk of tumors. Frequent consumption of overly hot beverages can induce cancer in different parts of the esophagus, mainly two types:
- Squamous cell carcinoma, which accounts for about 90% of global esophageal cancer cases。
- Adenocarcinoma (a malignant tumor arising from the submucosa of the esophagus or the cardiac glands), which accounts for 10%.
In this assessment by the World Health Organization, very hot beverages were also classified as Group 2A carcinogens (probable carcinogens), along with high-temperature fried foods and red meat.
To protect the esophagus, it is advisable to keep food temperatures below 60°C.
Scientific experiments have found that temperatures below 60°C provide some protection for the oral mucosa as well as the esophageal and gastric mucosa.
