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Green tea slows prostate tumour growth

Antioxidant compounds in green tea help slow the growth and progression of prostate cancer.

Green tea slows prostate tumour growth

Antioxidant compounds in green tea help slow the growth and progression of prostate cancer.

Researchers from America found that among 26 men with prostate cancer, short-term treatment with the green tea compound epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) lowered the patients' blood levels of several proteins linked to prostate cancer progression. EGCG is the main polyphenol in green tea; polyphenols are antioxidant compounds that may help prevent the cell damage that promotes cancer development and progression.

The study included 26 men recently diagnosed with prostate cancer who were scheduled to have surgery to remove the tumour. All the patients were made to consume four EGCG-containing capsules every day, up until the day before their surgery - typically for about one month. The daily EGCG dose was equivalent to about a dozen cups of green tea.

Overall, the researchers found, the men's levels of several blood proteins - including hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) -- fell during the study period. HGF and VEGF are both thought to play a role in cancer cells' growth and spread. PSA, a protein produced by the prostate gland, tends to rise when prostate cancer develops or recurs.

The findings lay the groundwork for further randomised, placebo-controlled trials - the 'gold standard' in medical research, where patients are randomly assigned to take the study drug or an inactive substance for comparison. The current study does not prove that green tea compounds arrest prostate tumours' spread. But it does suggest that EGCG should be studied in larger clinical trials as a potential additional therapy for the disease.

The above study is just the beginning and a lot of work remains to be done. However, the use of tea polyphenols alone or in combination with other compounds currently used for cancer therapy should be explored as an approach to prevent cancer progression and recurrence.

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