Green Tea May Slow Prostate Cancer, Researchers Say
Drinking a lot of green tea may slow the progression of prostate cancer, new research has found.
Scientists from Feist-Weiller Cancer Center at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport focused on levels of serum markers that can predict how fast prostate cancer is spreading. The biomarkers used in the study included hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and prostate specific antigen. Both HGF and VEGF are considered reliable predictors of metastatic disease, including prostate cancer, the researchers said.
In a study of 26 men between the ages of 41 and 72 who were diagnosed with prostate cancer and set to undergo surgery to remove the prostate, researchers gave the men daily pills of Polyphenon E that were the equivalent of 12 cups of brewed green tea. Polyphenon E is a green tea extract that has antioxidant properties.
The men were treated for an average of 34.5 days.
Following the treatments, blood tests showed that levels of the three proteins had fallen. HGF was reduced an average of 18.9 percent, VEGF fell by 9.9 percent, and prostate specific antigen (PSA) fell by 10.4 percent, the study found.
While researchers said the green-tea research is still in the early stages, drinking the compounds in green tea appear to keep the cancer from growing very fast. It does not appear to shrink existing cancerous prostate tumors.
However, green-tea therapy could be a good addition to chemotherapy, radiation, and other traditional cancer treatments, the study’s authors said.
Prostate cancer is a leading cause of cancer death among American men. An estimated 192,280 men will be diagnosed with the cancer in 2009, and of those diagnosed, about 27,360 will die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society.
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