A meta-analysis conducted by the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology Consortium (Inhance) shows that daily consumption of coffee or tea is associated with a reduced risk of certain head and neck cancers. This is an update of a previous meta-analysis carried out by the consortium, the results of which are published in the journal Cancer.
Head and neck cancers include cancers of the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx. “Although five-year survival rates are increasing, the increasing incidence of oropharyngeal cancer in high-income countries and the overall burden of head and neck cancer in low- and middle-income countries justify a focus on understanding risk factors for head and neck cancer for primary prevention purposes”underline the authors.
For this work, the authors pooled data from 14 case-control studies identified by the Inhance consortium, which corresponds to a total of 9,548 cases of head and neck cancer and 15,783 controls.
Coffee associated with a 30% reduction in the risk of oral cancer
Compared to no consumption, drinking more than four cups of caffeinated coffee every day was associated with a 17% reduction in the risk of head and neck cancer and, more specifically, a reduction in the risk of head and neck cancer. oral cavity by 30% and oropharynx by 22%. Consuming three to four cups per day of coffee was associated with a 41% reduction in the risk of hypopharyngeal cancer. No significant association was found for laryngeal cancer. A dose-response relationship between consumption and protection against cancer risk was observed for all head and neck cancers.
Consumption of decaffeinated coffee was also associated with a reduction in the risk of oral cancer of 25% compared to no consumption; drinking between zero and one cup of decaffeinated coffee daily was associated with a 34% reduction in oral cancer risk. As with caffeinated coffee, no association was found for laryngeal cancer.
As for tea drinkers, they had a 29% reduced risk of hypopharyngeal cancer compared to non-drinkers. Tea consumption of between zero and one cup per day was associated with a 9% reduction in the risk of head and neck cancer and a 27% reduction in the risk of hypopharyngeal cancer, while drinking more than one cup per day was associated with a 38% increased risk of laryngeal cancer. No association was observed between tea and cancers of the oral cavity or oropharynx. A dose-response relationship was found for head and neck cancer, hypopharyngeal cancer and laryngeal cancer.
The possible role of polyphenols
“Thanks to the additional studies and larger sample size compared to the previous Inhance study, this work was able to estimate the risk of oropharyngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer separately with respect to coffee and tea consumptionspecify the authors. We observed inverse associations between caffeinated coffee consumption and risk of oropharyngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer at different levels of daily consumption, which has not been previously reported in the literature. »
This study also made it possible to evaluate the effect of decaffeinated coffee on the risk of head and neck cancer. “It is possible that bioactive compounds other than caffeine contribute to the potential anticancer effect of coffee and tea. Polyphenols, bioactive compounds found in caffeinated coffee, decaffeinated coffee and tea, have demonstrated antioxidant and anticancer properties that contribute to the inhibition of angiogenesis, proliferation, invasion and metastasis of cells cancerous »the authors argue.
According to them, “Further studies should evaluate the effects of coffee and tea consumption in regions beyond North America and Europe, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where head and neck cancer neck represents a burden, and include different types of coffee and tea.”
