Hot Tea and Oesophagus Cancer

Ciwan · #1 by **Ciwan** » Oct 04, 2011 2:44 pm

Hello Friends

Does anyone know if this study is worth taking seriously ? Here's some of the article:

A study carried out in a province of northern Iran where people drink lots of hot tea every day found there was a strong link between drinking very hot tea and a higher risk of cancer of the oesophagus, the tube of muscle that carries food from the throat to the stomach.

The study was the work of Dr Reza Malekzadeh, professor and director of the Digestive Disease Research Center of Shariati Hospital at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences, and colleagues, and was published online on 26 March in the British Medical Journal, BMJ.

The researchers suggest people wait a few minutes before drinking tea made with boiling water, since they concluded that drinking very hot tea (that is at or above 70 degrees C or 158 degrees Fahrenheit) can raise a person's risk of developing cancer of the oesophagus.

Am I right in ignoring anything that isn't Peer Reviewed ? I don't think that research has been duplicated to check the accuracy of the data. Plus I'm not even sure how they would even collect data on such a thing.

Any clarifications would be great, and appreciated.

Thank You.

jaydot · #2 by **jaydot** » Oct 04, 2011 9:24 pm

it's bollox. we brits have been drinking scalding tea since we wuz tots and we are bursting with health as a result.

Ciwan · #3 by **Ciwan** » Oct 04, 2011 9:30 pm

I thought we brits always put milk in our tea, that makes it significantly less hot ! no ?

HughMcB · #4 by **HughMcB** » Oct 04, 2011 9:36 pm

I've heard through the grapevine that milk also blocks many of the good stuff in tea too.

laklak · #5 by **laklak** » Oct 05, 2011 1:32 am

Tea should be consumed cold, over ice, with a sprig of mint and plenty of sugar. 100,000,000 rednecks can't be wrong, eh?

Durro · #6 by **Durro** » Oct 08, 2011 12:08 am

There may be something to it. Chronic irritation of the oesophagus can lead to inflammation, Barrett's Oesophagitis and even cancer. People with poorly controlled oesophageal reflux are at risk of cancer, as are curry eaters. I believe that India has the world's highest rates of oesophageal and stomach cancer.

The thing is with thes studies is that causative agents of cancer are often multifactorial. Yes, there may be an increased prevalence within a tea drinking population, but what else are they doing that is a risk factor ? Given that other populations drink lots of tea and don't have these issues, it makes me wonder about the cause and effect relationship.

ramseyoptom · #7 by **ramseyoptom** » Oct 08, 2011 6:23 pm

Ciwan wrote:Hello Friends

Does anyone know if this study is worth taking seriously ? Here's some of the article:

A study carried out in a province of northern Iran where people drink lots of hot tea every day found there was a strong link between drinking very hot tea and a higher risk of cancer of the oesophagus, the tube of muscle that carries food from the throat to the stomach.

The study was the work of Dr Reza Malekzadeh, professor and director of the Digestive Disease Research Center of Shariati Hospital at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences, and colleagues, and was published online on 26 March in the British Medical Journal, BMJ.

The researchers suggest people wait a few minutes before drinking tea made with boiling water, since they concluded that drinking very hot tea (that is at or above 70 degrees C or 158 degrees Fahrenheit) can raise a person's risk of developing cancer of the oesophagus.

Am I right in ignoring anything that isn't Peer Reviewed ? I don't think that research has been duplicated to check the accuracy of the data. Plus I'm not even sure how they would even collect data on such a thing.

Any clarifications would be great, and appreciated.

Thank You.

Given that the B(ritish)M(edical)J(ournal) is, along with The Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine, in the top three medical journals in the world I think it is safe to say if it has been published in the BMJ as a research paper then it should be reliable. I tried the BMJ website but beyond a certain level it is a paywall, and the visible archives don't seem to go back to 2009.

But I agree with Durro intense heat will irritate the oesophogeal lining, then it is possible that long term irritation may lead to cancer.

Ciwan · #8 by **Ciwan** » Oct 13, 2011 7:52 am

Ian, I have just thought of something.

I originally come from the Middle East, and there when people drink very hot tea, they don't put milk in it, but they also do not just gulp down the very hot tea ! .. that would be crazy, they'd burn their mouth and tongue.

What they do is, they slurp small quantities of the tea, which makes its temperature just right ... how do I know ? because I drink it like that. hehe

It annoys the hell out of my English friends, but I don't mind. I enjoy tea that way.

So what do you think ? could this whole research be nullified by this ? :think:

jaydot · #9 by **jaydot** » Nov 19, 2011 11:18 pm

rather than their tea drinking habits, i'd be looking at their sexual habits for likely cause.

Louiesan · **#10** by **Louiesan** » Nov 23, 2011 1:59 pm

For everyone's information here. in Japan they sip their teas warm...really warm. And its ill conduct to serve it cold. yet japanese are known for their longevity and i havent heard them say they have esophagus cancer....

Ciwan · **#11** by **Ciwan** » Dec 01, 2011 9:38 am

Interesting point Louiesan.

Mike_L · **#12** by **Mike_L** » Dec 01, 2011 9:52 am

Durro wrote:People with poorly controlled oesophageal reflux are at risk of cancer, as are curry eaters. I believe that India has the world's highest rates of oesophageal and stomach cancer.

Edit to add:

This article suggests that curry may actually have a protective effect against oesophageal cancer! :scratch:

Scientists based at the Cork Cancer Research Centre in Ireland treated oesophageal cancer cells with curcumin – a chemical found in the curry spice tumeric.

They found that curcumin started to kill cancer cells within 24 hours. The cells also began to digest themselves, according to the research, published in the British Journal of Cancer.

Dr Sharon McKenna, lead study author, based at the Cork Cancer Research Centre, University College Cork, said: “These exciting results suggests scientists could develop curcumin as a potential anti-cancer drug to treat oesophageal cancer.

(Full article at link above)

Durro wrote:
The thing is with thes studies is that causative agents of cancer are often multifactorial. Yes, there may be an increased prevalence within a tea drinking population, but what else are they doing that is a risk factor ?

Chewing of the areca nut (paan / betel) is widespread throughout Asia and is a possible other risk factor for oral and oesophageal cancers... :dunno:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betel#Chewing

CarlPierce · **#13** by **CarlPierce** » Dec 01, 2011 10:56 am

I've read that eating very hot (temperature) food is correlated with cancer incidence. As for the mechanism I don't know.

GenesForLife · **#14** by **GenesForLife** » Dec 09, 2011 1:38 am

Durro wrote:There may be something to it. Chronic irritation of the oesophagus can lead to inflammation, Barrett's Oesophagitis and even cancer. People with poorly controlled oesophageal reflux are at risk of cancer, as are curry eaters. I believe that India has the world's highest rates of oesophageal and stomach cancer.

The thing is with thes studies is that causative agents of cancer are often multifactorial. Yes, there may be an increased prevalence within a tea drinking population, but what else are they doing that is a risk factor ? Given that other populations drink lots of tea and don't have these issues, it makes me wonder about the cause and effect relationship.

There is a potential confounding factor involved, though, Durro; Helicobacter pylori in stomach cancer. However, rather strangely, there appears to be an inverse risk associated with H.pylori of some strains and Oesophageal adenocarcinomas.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19138977

Tollens · **#15** by **Tollens** » Dec 09, 2011 4:16 am

Good idea to be skeptical about something that's not peer reviewed.

Somehow I still don't think it's the best idea to burn your throat with scalding water.

AlohaChris · **#16** by **AlohaChris** » Dec 09, 2011 5:00 am

Louiesan wrote:For everyone's information here. in Japan they sip their teas warm...really warm. And its ill conduct to serve it cold. yet japanese are known for their longevity and i havent heard them say they have esophagus cancer....

Japan has 9 times the rate of esophageal cancer when compared with the USA.

http://jjco.oxfordjournals.org/content/35/9/564.full

Pebble · **#17** by **Pebble** » Dec 09, 2011 8:04 am

Here's the paper:

http://www.bmj.com/content/338/bmj.b929?view=long&pmid=19325180

Looks well constructed - and based on some evidence from animal work plus previous studies suggesting a possible association. it is however a case control study - not the best design.

I don't have access to the European Journal of Cancer - but this is from the same group suggesting that other factors need consideration.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19800783

Lance · **#18** by **Lance** » Dec 11, 2011 1:02 am

The conclusion makes sense. I agree that repeated burn damage to the throat may, long term, make the throat more susceptible to cancers.

Did you guys also know that there is a strong correlation between eating a lot of smoked foods and lip, throat and tongue cancer? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7447916

That there is a strong correlation between burning incense in your home and developing lung cancer?
http://www.webmd.com/lung-cancer/news/2 ... ay-cancers

210karman · **#19** by **210karman** » Dec 11, 2011 1:08 am

Damn it. I've sent Hitchens a box of Earl Grey for Xmas.

Tollens · **#20** by **Tollens** » Dec 11, 2011 4:10 am

210karman wrote:Damn it. I've sent Hitchens a box of Earl Grey for Xmas.

that's terrible