Drinking Tea and Coffee May Lower Risk for Some Cancers: Study

Having a cup of joe or some tea for the holidays can be a good thing!

In a study published in the Journal of the American Cancer Society, researchers found that people who drank tea or coffee had a slightly lower risk of head and neck cancer – although it was unclear whether the drinks actually reduced the risk.

The scientists examined data from 14 individual studies – examining more than 9,500 people with head and neck cancer and more than 15,000 people without – from the International Consortium on Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology for their research.

The study found that those who drank less than four cups of caffeinated coffee a day and less than a cup of tea had a 17% and 9% lower chance of developing head and neck cancer, respectively.

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The study also noted that those who drank coffee were less likely to develop cancer of the oral cavity and oropharynx — located in the middle part of the throat, according to Yale Medicine. Meanwhile, those who drank less than a cup of tea had a lower chance of developing hypopharyngeal cancer — which develops in the lower part of the throat, according to John Hopkins Medicine.

“Although there has been previous research on coffee and tea consumption and reduced cancer risk, this study highlighted their different effects on different subsites of head and neck cancer, including the observation that even decaffeinated coffee had a positive effect,” the study’s senior author, Ph.D. Yuan-Chin Amy Lee of the Huntsman Cancer Institute and the University of Utah School of Medicine said, The Guardian.

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“Perhaps biologically active compounds other than caffeine contribute to the potential anticancer effect of coffee and tea,” Lee added.

However, drinking more than a cup of tea a day is linked to a higher chance of developing laryngeal cancer — which forms in the larynx, the part of the throat that controls the vocal cords, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

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However, the study noted that there were limitations, as study participants self-reported their findings and were not asked what type of tea or coffee they drank. There could have been other factors that were not included in the study that could have affected it as well.

“In observational studies, it is very difficult to completely eliminate the confounding effects of, for example, tobacco and alcohol from the statistical analysis,” said Tom Sanders, emeritus professor of nutrition and dietetics at King’s College London. The Guardian.

“Consequently, people who drink a lot of coffee and tea may be more likely to avoid other harmful behaviors such as drinking alcohol and smoking, and may be at lower risk of these types of cancer for other reasons,” Sanders, who was not involved in the study, said. is.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education