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Ingredient
found in Green Tea significantly inhibits
Breast Cancer growth in female mice
Newswise — Green tea is
high in the antioxidant EGCG
(epigallocatechin-3- gallate) which helps
prevent the body’s cells from becoming
damaged and prematurely aged.
Studies have suggested
that the combination of green tea and EGCG
may also be beneficial by providing
protection against certain types of cancers,
including breast cancer.
A new study conducted
by researchers at the University of
Mississippi finds that consuming EGCG
significantly inhibits breast tumor growth
in female mice. These results bring us one
step closer to better understanding the
disease and potentially new and naturally
occurring therapies.
The study was conducted
by Jian-Wei Gu, Emily Young, Jordan
Covington, James Wes Johnson, and Wei Tan,
all of the Department of Physiology &
Biophysics, University of Mississippi
Medical Center, Jackson, MS.
Dr. Gu will present his
team’s findings, entitled, Oral
Administration of EGCG, an Antioxidant Found
in Green Tea, Inhibits Tumor Angiogenesis
and Growth of Breast Cancer in Female Mice,
at the 121st Annual Meeting of the American
Physiological Society (APS;
http://www.the-APS.org/press),
part of the Experimental Biology 2008
scientific conference.
The Study
Epidemiological studies suggest that green
tea and its major constituent, EGCG, can
provide some protection against cancer.
Because these studies
were very limited, the anti-cancer mechanism
of green tea and EGCG was not clear.
As a result, the
researchers examined whether drinking EGCG
(just the antioxidant infused in water)
inhibited the following: expression of VEGF
(vascular endothelial growth factor, which
is found in a variety of breast cancer
types); tumor angiogenesis (thought to help
tumors expand by supplying them with
nutrients); and the growth of breast cancer
in female mice.
Seven week old female
mice were given EGCG (25 mg/50 ml) in
drinking water for five weeks (approximately
50-100 mg/kg/day.)
The control mice
received regular drinking water. In the
second week of the study mouse breast cancer
cells were injected in the left fourth
mammary glands of the mice.
Tumor size was
monitored by measuring the tumor cross
section area (TCSA). Tumors were eventually
isolated and measured for tumor weight,
intratumoral microvessel (IM) density (using
staining), and VEGF protein levels (using
ELISA).
At the end of the five
week period the researchers found that oral
consumption of EGCG caused significant
decreases in TCSA (66%), tumor weight (68%),
IM density 155±6 vs.111±20 IM#mm^2) and VEGF
protein levels (59.0±3.7 vs. 45.7±1.4 pg/mg)
in the breast tumors vs. the control mice,
respectively (N=8; P<0.01). Further, VEGF
plasma levels were lower in EGCG mice than
in control mice (40.8±3.5 vs. 26.5±3.8 pg/ml
P< 0.01).
Dr. Gu, the senior
researcher for the study, hypothesized that
the reason for the link between EGCG and the
reductions in the cancer data was because
EGCG directly targets both tumor blood
vessels and tumor cells of breast cancer for
suppressing the new blood vessels formation
in breast tumor, the proliferation and
migration of breast cancer cells.
Gu concluded by saying,
“In this study we have demonstrated that the
frequent ingestion of EGCG significantly
inhibits breast tumor growth, VEGF
expression and tumor angiogenesis in mice.
We believe our findings will help lead to
new therapies for the prevention and
treatment of breast cancer in women.”
Physiology is the study
of how molecules, cells, tissues and organs
function to create health or disease. The
American Physiological Society (APS;
http://www.The-APS.org/press) has
been an integral part of this discovery
process since it was established in 1887.
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