Green Tea Shows Promise as Cancer Preventative

Miami, FL (AHN) – Green tea has been shown as a possible oral cancer preventative in people with a pre-cancerous condition known as oral leukoplakia, according to a new study.

Researchers with the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center said that more than half the 41 participants in the study with the condition who were given green tea extract had a clinical response.

Green tea is high in polyphenols, which have been known for their effect on inhibiting tumor growth. But clinical results have been mixed, the researchers said in a statement.

Among the participants in the study taking green tea at the highest doses, 59 percent had a clinical response, compared with 36.4 percent taking the lowest extract dose and 18 percent taking a placebo. Still, the researchers said more study is needed. After a follow-up time of about 27.5 months, 15 participants developed oral cancer, with a median time to the disease of a little more than 46.4 months.

The study appears in the online version of the journal Cancer Prevention Research.

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