Green Tea May Fight Lung Cancer WebMD Medical News

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Green Tea May Fight Lung Cancer

Green Tea Extract Tweaks Lung Cancer Cells in Lab Tests

By Miranda Hitti

WebMD Medical NewsReviewed

by Louise Chang, MDMarch 12, 2007 --

http://www.netscape.com/viewstory/2007/03/13/green-tea-may-fight-

lung-cancer/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.webmd.com%2Flung-cancer%2Fnews%

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Green tea may fight lung cancer and could inspire the creation of

new lung cancer drugs, scientists report.

But it may be too soon to count on a cup of green tea to curb lung

cancer. So far, the scientists have only tested green tea extract

against human lung cancer cells in test tubes, not people.

The researchers included Qing-Yi Lu, PhD, of the Center for Human

Nutrition at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

Lu and colleagues exposed a sample of human lung cancer cells to a

decaffeinated green tea extract. The lung cancer cells marinated in

the green tea extract for up to three days.

The green tea extract remodeled a certain protein in the lung cancer

cells. As a result, the lung cancer cells became more likely to

stick together and less likely to move, the study shows.

Antioxidants in green tea may have tweaked the cancer cell protein,

but it's not clear whether one antioxidant deserves all the credit

or whether several antioxidants worked together, the researchers

note.

The study doesn't prove that drinking green tea curbs lung cancer in

people.

However, it may be possible to make new lung cancer drugs based on

green tea extract, Lu's team suggests. Such drugs would target the

lung cancer protein remodeled by the green tea extract in the lab

tests.

The study appears online in Laboratory Investigation.

SOURCES: Lu, Q. Laboratory Investigation, March 12, 2007; online

edition. News release, Laboratory Investigation.