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Findings show green tea could halt oral cancer
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Results of a new study from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center found that polyphenols in green tea could halt the development of oral cancer in patients with pre-cancerous cell changes. Researchers say that half of patients with pre-malignant lesions known as leukoplakia responded to treatment with green tea extract. The findings suggest that polyphenols found in the popular brew might halt oral cancer.
Senior study author Vassiliki Papadimitrakopoulou, M.D., professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology says, "While still very early, and not definitive proof that green tea is an effective preventive agent, these results certainly encourage more study for patients at highest risk for oral cancer. The extract's lack of toxicity is attractive - in prevention trials, it's very important to remember that these are otherwise healthy individuals and we need to ensure that agents studied produce no harm."
For the study, forty one patients with oral leukoplakia received either placebo or green tea extract. Biopsies of the lesions were collected, showing that 58.8 percent of the patients had a clinical response to green tea extract. Though the study was small, first author of the study Anne Tsao, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology says the findings provide direction for further studies.
One important finding was that green tea extracts were well tolerated. "While these are encouraging findings, much more research must be done before we can conclude that green tea may prevent oral or any other type of cancer. It's also important to remind people that this trial enrolled very few participants who, at the highest dose levels took the equivalent of eight cups of green tea three times a day," said Papadimitrakopoulou. "We need to further understand if green tea offers longer-term prevention effects for patients."
The authors say future studies to determine the role of green tea for oral cancer prevention should include longer exposure to green tea supplements. The green tea supplements used in the study were developed by a pharmaceutical company, and are not available over the counter. The study is published online in Cancer Prevention Research. Green tea supplements were shown to improve cell changes associated with the development of oral cancer in the small study, providing impetus for more research.
American Association for Cancer Research
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