Prostate cancer was in the news recently, after a study that found that green tea may be able to slow the progression of the disease. Men who have prostate cancer who consumed green tea’s active compounds showed a significant reduction in the serum markers that predict the progression of prostate cancer. This study was published in Cancer Prevention Research.

 

The agent used in this trial, Polyphenon E, might have the potential to lower the number of people who are affected by prostate cancer, and to slow its progression in people who have it.

 

Green tea is a popular drink around the world, and some studies have indeed shown health benefits arising from the consumption of green tea. This includes a lower incidence of prostate cancer. Human trials in the past have, however, reached results that contradict each other. The few studies that have evaluated the efficacy of consuming green tea have evaluated the biomarker change, which could help to predict the progression of the disease.

 

This study determined the effects of green tea’s active compounds in the short term on prostate cancer patients’ serum biomarkers. Using 26 men, of ages from 41 to 72, the study included patients who consumed four capsules of Polyphenon E. This is roughly equivalent to twelve cups of green tea. The time for the patients in the study ranged from 12 to 73 days, with the average time 34.5 days.

 

Findings in the study show that there was a significant serum level reduction after treatments, and some patients even had a reduction that was greater than thirty percent. Other biomarkers were also affected positively. Liver function remained normal through the study, and side effects were few.

 

A year-long clinical trial in Italy recently demonstrated that if you consume green tea polyphenols, it can reduce your risk of developing prostate cancer in men who have high grade prostate intraepithelial neoplasia. The head of the researchers has stated that these studies are only the beginning, but he thinks that tea polyphenols should be looked into, as a way to prevent the progress of cancer and its recurrence.

 

A physician at Johns Hopkins says that more studies are needed, and points out that the trial was not randomized. Some of the changes, he believes, could be the result of the patient making healthy lifestyle changes at the same time as the study. He does recommend that green tea be studied in true randomized trials.

 

Researchers are now conducting a trial similar to the prostate trial with patients who have breast cancer. They also want to ascertain why certain patients respond more favorably to the ingredients in green tea. They feel that there is evidence that is reasonably suggestive that many types of cancer are preventable, and that studies using substances derived from plants support the idea that various compounds from plants that are found in a healthy diet have a role in preventing the development or progression of cancer.