Green tea may help in cancer fight, several studies suggest

• The National Cancer Institue is researching the benefits of green tea.
• Antioxidants found in green tea may reduce risks of certain types of cancer.
• Long regarded in those cultures as an aid to good health, researchers now are studying tea for possible use in the prevention and treatment of a variety of cancers.
• To become stable, oxidants steal electrons from other molecules and, in the process, damage cell proteins and genetic material.
• With the additional process of allowing the leaves to ferment and oxidize, black tea is produced.
• Possibly because it is less processed, green tea contains higher levels of antioxidants than black tea.
• Although tea is consumed in a variety of ways and varies in its chemical makeup, one study showed steeping either green or black tea for about five minutes released over 80 percent of its catechins.
• In the laboratory, studies have shown tea catechins act as powerful inhibitors of cancer growth in several ways: They scavenge oxidants before cell injuries occur, reduce the incidence and size of chemically induced tumors, and inhibit the growth of tumor cells.
• In studies of liver, skin and stomach cancer, chemically induced tumors were shown to decrease in size in mice that were fed green and black tea (1, 2).
• Some epidemiological studies comparing tea drinkers to non-tea drinkers support the claim that drinking tea prevents cancer; others do not.
• National Cancer Institute (NCI) researchers are also investigating the therapeutic use of green tea.
• One recently completed but unpublished NCI trial studied the antitumor effect of green tea among prostate cancer patients.
• For example, one is investigating the protective effects of a pill form of green tea against sun-induced skin damage while another explores the topical application of green tea in shrinking precancerous skin changes.