Green Tea - Anti Cancer Properties

An article in New Scientist magazine mentions that numerous studies suggest that green tea protects against a range of cancers, including lung, prostate and breast cancer. The reason cited is the antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), according to Hirofumi Tachibana's team at Kyushu University in Japan. Their research showed that growth of human lung cancer cells with a cell receptor called 67 LR is slowed significantly after drinking just two or three cups of green tea, which contains EGCG. The research also showed that 67 LR is involved in the propagation of prion diseases such as human Creutzfeldt-Jakob (related to mad cow disease in animals). This is not direct evidence of tea's effect on prion diseases, but a hint that EGCG's effect on 67 LR is an interesting lead in the search for treatments.

According to the U.S. National Cancer Institute, in laboratory studies using animals, catechins inactivated oxidants before cell damage occurred, reduced the number and size of tumors, and inhibited the growth of cancer cells.[citation needed]

White tea has been claimed to be even more effective, based upon preliminary work by Santana-Rios et al.

Another study from the Life Science journal Carcinogenesis demonstrated that green tea, in combination with tamoxifen, is effective in suppressing breast cancer growth in vitro human breast cancer tumors and in vivo animal experiments in mice.

The anticarcinogenic effect of green tea on gastric cancer was refuted by a large-scale, population-based, prospective cohort study in Japan that involved more than 26,000 residents. Several case control studies suggest an inverse relation between green tea consumption and gastric cancer. Further evaluation is needed to assess the role of green tea and gastric cancer reduction.

Topical applications of green tea extracts (EGCG) have protective effects on UVA- and UVB-induced skin damage