Green Tea Therapy Not Effective In Advanced Prostate Cancer A phase II study of green tea as treatment for advanced prostate cancer demonstrated disappointing results, according to researchers at the Mayo Clinic and the North Central Cancer Treatment Group who reported their data here. Only one patient of 42 had a 50% drop from baseline measurements of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and the response was brief. "In this preliminary investigation, we tested high doses of green tea, but we did not see the favorable effects for which we had hoped," said Aminah Jatoi, lead investigator and assistant professor in Mayo's Department of Oncology, Rochester, MN. The protocol consisted of six one-gram doses per day of highly concentrated, presweetened green tea specially formulated for this study. Patients were allowed to take the tea as they wished: hot, iced, in juice, diluted, or with additional sweetener. After roughly one month of treatment, which had been planned to be administered for at least four months, dropout rates were high because of disease progression and side effects attributed to the highly concentrated green tea preparation. In laboratory studies, the polyphenols in green tea have been shown to impede the growth of prostate tumors that don't depend on steroid hormones called androgens. The research team hoped that green tea would demonstrate a similar effect in a group of patients with androgen-independent cancer that had spread outside the prostate and had failed to respond to other therapies. The Mayo Clinic/NCCTG investigators considered using decaffeinated tea, but because other investigators had suggested that decaffeination may also remove anticancer substances from the tea, they opted not to. However, some of the side effects observed in this study may have been related to the caffeine content of this high-dose green tea preparation. "Although these findings are not encouraging for green tea for this type of prostate cancer, I think we send a very important message to people with cancer," said Jatoi. "Oncologists, researchers, and others are examining unconventional approaches and are receptive to the possibility that such therapies may help." Ann's NOTE: Not a very good idea to use pre-sweetened green tea. Sugar is 'differentially taken up' in tumors, meaning it is attracted to cancer cells and finds them. No good reason to sweeten the tea. If people can take chemotherapy, they can take unsweetened ORGANIC green tea drinks. Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.