Prostate cancer affects one out of every 6 men during their lifetime and is the second most common cause of cancer-related death for men in the United States, resulting in an estimated 27,500 deaths in 2015. Identifying those men who have a higher risk of developing prostate cancer may reduce mortality.
University of Tampa researchers, in collaboration with Moffitt Cancer Center, are studying the prostate-cancer-fighting affects of green tea. Dr. Jong Park, with Moffitt, says the Cancer Center was contacted several years ago by a Japanese tea company that was interested in studying the efficacy of green tea in fighting cancer. The company provided green tea power to be used in mouse trials. Jong says his studies showed that various doses of green tea slowed or inhibited the progression of prostate cancer. University of Tampa researcher Michael Carastro then took the studies a step further, by narrowing the study to look at Polyphenon E, which is a component of green tea minus the caffeine. Lab studies are currently underway to determine if Polyphenon E has benefits for suppressing the growth of prostate cancer cells in humans.
While researchers are not able to make recommendations on green tea consumption, preliminary studies indicate that up to half a liter of green tea per day could be effective in fighting the growth of some cancer cells.
