Scientists Find Strong Link Between Drinking Sugary Soda and Getting Cancer

In a new study, scientists have found an alarming link between sugary soda and oral cancer.

As United Press International reports, new research out of the University of Washington found that women who drink at least one full-sugar soft drink per day appear to be about five times more likely to get oral cavity cancer (OCC) than their counterparts who avoid such beverages.

Typically thought of as a cancer primarily affecting older men who smoke and drink, instances of OCC have, as UPI notes, been rising steadily among women — including those who don't smoke or drink, or do so sparingly. The five-year survival rate for OCC, which causes painful sores on either the lips or the gums and can spread down the throat if left untreated, is only 64.3 percent.

In a new paper published in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, the University of Washington researchers looked at long-term healthcare data for more than 162,000 healthcare workers from the Nurses' Health Study and identified 124 cases of OCC among them. Crunching the numbers, the researchers found that people who drink at least one sugary soda beverage per day were at a 4.87 times greater risk of developing OCC than their counterparts who had less than one such drink per month.

For those who don't smoke or drink — or do so lightly — the numbers were even more stark: those who consumed one or more sugary soda per day were 5.46 more likely to develop OCC than people who drink less than one per month.

The paper only establishes correlation, not causation, but the results are pretty striking. Brittany Barber, an assistant professor of otolaryngology head and neck surgery who led the research with her colleagues at UW, told UPI that rising rates of this type of cancer among women are "alarming."

Until now, sugary soft drinks have not been studied as one of the culprits behind that rate rise among nonsmokers — especially after rates of OCC related to smoking have seen a steady decline thanks to successful anti-smoking campaigns and legislature.

In 2020, the report notes, there were 355,000 new cases of OCC and 177,000 deaths globally. Despite being far "less common than breast or colon cancer," as Barber notes, that's still a pretty grim ratio of deaths to diagnoses.

Rather than implying that the sugar from sodas themselves is causing people to get OCC, the researchers hypothesize that "diets with higher added sugar may contribute to chronic inflammation." Previous studies have connected excessive consumption of sugary drinks with gum disease — which, in turn, has been linked to oral cancer.

There will obviously need to be more research to pin down this apparent connection — but in the meantime, cutting out full-sugar sodas, or soft drinks completely, may be your best bet for avoiding mouth cancer.

More on oral health: When They Took Fluoride Out of the Water Like RFK Jr. Wants to Do Everywhere, People's Teeth Started Rotting Out of Their Heads

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