Tea is consumed by people from all over the world. There are basically 3 types of teas. Green tea is prepared by steaming or baking, without fermentation to preclude the oxidation of polyphenols. Black tea (mainly consumed by western countries) is exposed to fermentation which oxidized the polyphenols. Oolong is exposed to the sun and allowed partially fermentation. Experimental studies have shown that tea and tea polyphenols have anti-carcinogenic properties against breast cancer. About 90% of polyphenols found in green tea are catechins. epigallocatechin gallate, also known as EGCG, is the most active compound in green tea. It is a stronger antioxidant than vitamin C and E.

In January 2004, International Journal of Cancer, researchers from Curtin University of Technology have concluded that green tea has protective effect against prostate cancer, The study was conducted in southeast of China.

In November 2005, Journal of Carcinogenesis, researchers from the University of Minnesota have performed an analysis of 13 studies and concluded that green tea consumption lowers the risk of breast cancer.

In the most recent research study regarding green tea and breast cancer by a group of researchers from University of Western Australia and Univeristy of Zhejiang China also provided evidence that regular consumption of green tea associated with reduced rate of breast cancer - 1009 female patients aged 20-87 years with histologically confirmed breast cancer were recruited for this study between 2004 and 2005. (Journal of Carcinogenesis ).

At the AICR/WCRF International Research Conference on Food, Nutrition and Cancer held in Washington, D.C. on July 14 and 15, 2005, several papers will be presented containing new evidence on the link between green tea and cancer, including:
# EGCG targets and defuses a basic, cancer-sparking protein found throughout the body. (This paper is the subject of the AICR Press Conference held at 10:00 a.m. on July 14, 2005.)
#EGCG interacts with NfkB, an important regulator of the body’s immune and inflammatory responses.
#EGCG and other green tea components prevent the proliferation of prostate cancer cells.
#Green tea slows the growth of breast tumors.
#Green tea suppresses the metastasis of breast cancer cells.
#Green tea can induce “cell death” in lymphoma cells.

Green tea shows promising result in most of the research studies but they are also few cohort studies which showed consumption of green tea do not have any protective effect in reducing cancer. More studies need to be carried out with proper criteria selection (epidemiology, diet habit…) to further confirm the true benefits of green tea and other tea as well….we still have a long way to go….