The analysis of data from more than a dozen studies has revealed that coffee and tea consumption has been linked with lower risks of developing head and neck cancer, including cancers of the mouth and throat.

The findings have been published in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

Head and neck cancer is the seventh most common cancer worldwide, with over 12,000 cases diagnosed in the UK each year, according to Cancer Research UK. Many studies have assessed whether drinking coffee or tea is associated with head and neck cancer, with inconsistent results.

To provide additional insight, investigators examined data from 14 studies by different scientists associated with the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology consortium, a collaboration of research groups around the globe. Study participants completed questionnaires about their prior consumption of caffeinated coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and tea in cups per day/week/month/year.

Investigators pooled information on 9,548 patients with head and neck cancer and 15,783 controls without cancer. The researchers found that compared with non-coffee drinkers, individuals who drank more than four cups of caffeinated coffee daily had 17 per cent lower odds of having head and neck cancer overall, 30 per cent lower odds of having cancer of the oral cavity, and 22 per cent lower odds of having throat cancer. Drinking three to four cups of caffeinated coffee was linked with a 41 per cent lower risk of having hypopharyngeal cancer (a type of cancer at the bottom of the throat).

Drinking decaffeinated coffee was associated with 25 per cent lower odds of oral cavity cancer. Drinking tea was linked with 29 per cent lower odds of hypopharyngeal cancer. Also, drinking one cup or less of tea daily was linked with a nine per cent lower risk of head and neck cancer overall, and a 27 per cent lower risk of hypopharyngeal cancer. However, drinking more than one cup was associated with 38 per cent higher odds of laryngeal cancer.

Yuan-Chin Amy Lee, senior author of the study, 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 sub-sites of head and neck cancer, including the observation that even decaffeinated coffee had some positive impact.

“Coffee and tea habits are fairly complex, and these findings support the need for more data and further studies around the impact that coffee and tea can have on reducing cancer risk.”

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