Green Tea Prostate Cancer Prevention?
Studies show positive results
Green tea prostate cancer prevention?
The antioxidants in green tea can act in a very powerful preventative way to fight this cancer that kills more men in the USA per year than any other, except for lung cancer.
A wealth of studies has provided hard evidence for green tea's positive effects on health.
Now they show that the catechins in green tea may actually slow down the progression of cancer.
Previous studies have shown that green tea may be linked to a reduced incidence of cancer, and its polyphenols have been regarded as a potential cancer therapy.
However, the FDA announced that the benefits of green tea was inconclusive because people consumed relatively small quantities.
Dr James Cardelli and associates at Louisiana State University carried out a clinical trial, to see the effects of short-term supplementation with increased amounts of active compounds in green tea on the progression of prostate cancer.
Dr Cardelli's clinical trial
The study involved 26 men between 41 and 64 years of age who had been diagnosed with the cancer and were scheduled for radical prostatectomy.
The men had a daily dose of 4 capsules containing polyphenon E, equivalent of about 12 cups of normally-brewed concentrated green tea from 12 to 73 days, until the day before surgery.
Blood tests showed a significant reduction in serum levels of 3 biomarkers associated with the growth and spread of prostate cancer.
Some patients demonstrated a reduction of more than 30%. The researchers said that EGCG (the main catechin in polyphenon E) blocked the production of these biomarkers.
In addition, the fear of EGCG's adverse effects on liver function, were found to be negated in this study.
The findings support a potential role for polyphenon E in the treatment and prevention of this cancer, the researchers concluded.
The findings
Dr Cardelli admits that the study is still in the early stage and that the findings need to be verified by larger trials, but he says that "green tea can keep cancer from growing very fast, but it may not be able to shrink tumors.
It can be a good addition to traditional therapies, like chemotherapy or radiation."
He said that there was reasonably good evidence that many cancers are preventable, and that plant-derived substances can play a role in preventing cancer development and progression.
It is therefore suggested that men should drink green tea to keep the progression at bay, and avoid the side effects of other medical interventions.
According to the American Cancer Society, over 27,000 men will be killed by this particular cancer in 2009.
Men are urged to get tested annually to gain early detection of this disease.
So - green tea prostate cancer prevention? It's worth drinking isn't it??
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