MONDAY, March 3, 2003 (HealthDayNews) --
Green tea isn't an effective treatment for advanced prostate cancer, says a new study from the Mayo Cancer Clinic and North Central Cancer Treatment Group.
While previous laboratory studies have suggested green tea might be an effective cancer treatment, this study found that's not the case for men with advanced prostate cancer.
The study, the first to look at the effects of green tea on this type of cancer, appears in the March 15 issue of Cancer.
The researchers looked at 42 men with advanced androgen-independent prostate cancer. Only one of them showed a short-term drop in his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels as the result of treatment with green tea. None of the men had a sustained decline in PSA levels.
For this study, each participant took daily doses of 6 grams of highly concentrated, presweetened tea. They were allowed to drink the tea any way they liked -- iced, hot, in juice or with added sweetener.
In the early stage of the study, all the participants reported consuming the specified amount of green tea each day. After a month, some of the men started dropping out of the study because their prostate cancer wasn't regressing and there were side effects caused by the high-dose green tea.
About 69 percent of the men in the study reported mild side effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. About 17 percent of the men reported mild to severe side effects such as confusion, insomnia and diarrhea.
More information
The American Cancer Society has more about green tea.
