Abstract P1-09-06: Biological Effects of Green Tea Capsule Supplementation in Pre-surgery Breast Cancer Patients

Abstract

Abstract Green tea is rich in antioxidant polyphenols consisting primarily of epicatechins, epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). There are suggestive evidence from observational epidemiologic studies that regular green tea consumers may have lower risk of breast cancer development and mortality. Inhibition of cell proliferation and angiogenesis and enhancement of apoptosis are some of the mechanisms that have been proposed to explain the anti-cancer actions of the bioactive extracts of green tea. We conducted a randomized pre-surgical pilot study of green tea capsules in women diagnosed with breast cancer at the Los Angeles County-University Southern California Medical Center. Women in both the green tea and control arms were non-green tea drinkers at baseline (i.e. less than 1 cup of green tea per week at the time of breast cancer diagnosis). Women (n = 17) who participated in the green tea arm took 3 green tea capsules daily (Pro Health Green Tea Mega EGCG, 3 capsules contained ∼ 870 mg EGCG; equivalent to ∼ 8 cups of green tea) between their breast cancer diagnosis until their scheduled surgery date. The average duration of green tea intake was 35 days. Women in the control arm did not drink green tea between diagnosis and surgery date. Participants in the green tea and control groups donated blood and urine specimens at enrollment and before surgery which were tested for urinary tea catechin levels as a measure of compliance. Baseline urinary tea catechin concentrations were low in both green tea and control arms. Tea catechin concentrations remained low for women in the control arm but increased significantly (2–10 folds for different catechins) for women in the green tea arm. The differences in pre-surgery urinary green tea levels were significantly different between these groups of participants We conducted standard immunohistochemical analysis of the formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded respective markers of cell proliferation (Ki67), apoptosis (BAX), and angiogenesis (CD34). Separate analysis was performed on benign and malignant breast cancer tissue. The changes in these three biomarkers pre- and post-treatment in the two groups will be presented. Supported by the WHH Foundation. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2012;72(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-09-06.