Researchers at the University of Oxford found that people who regularly drank tea or coffee at temperatures of 65°C or higher were about three times more likely to develop oesophageal cancer than those who preferred their drinks warm, according to a study published in the International Journal of Cancer.

The research followed around one million middle-aged men and women in the UK for 14 years. It found that drinking six or more hot beverages a day was associated with a higher risk of the disease.

Keren Papier, senior nutritional epidemiologist at Oxford Population Health and the study's lead researcher, said the large sample size adds to existing evidence that drinking very hot beverages may increase the risk of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

She advised people to allow tea or coffee to cool slightly before drinking it, rather than drinking it while it is very hot.

The study, however, stressed that lifestyle-related risk factors remain more important. Smoking and alcohol consumption were identified as the leading factors, with obesity following.

Alongside avoiding very hot beverages, the researchers recommended not smoking and reducing alcohol consumption as much as possible to help reduce the risk.