MADISON, Wisc.—Green tea polyphenol (epigallocatechin-3-gallate, EGCGA), combined with low doses of a COX-2 inhibitor (celecoxib) could slow the spread of human prostate cancer, according to studies on cell cultures and mice (Clin Cancer Res,13, 1611-1619, 2007, doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-06-2269). Researchers treated human prostate cancer cells with EGCG and a COX-2 inhibitor (NS-398), alone and in combination, and evaluated their effects on growth and apoptosis. Both EGCG and NS-398, (a COX-2 inhibitor) similar to celecoxib, demonstrated the ability to slow cancer cell growth and limit the presence of known cancer-promoting proteins within the cell samples. Together, EGCG and NS-398 suppressed cell growth by an additional 15 to 28 percent. The researchers repeated the experiment in mice with prostate cancer, using pharmacy-grade celecoxib and an oral suspension of the decaffeinated green tea polyphenol. In mice not treated with either substance, tumor volume averaged 1,300 cubic mm, whereas mice given either the tea or celecoxib had tumors averaging 835 cubic mm and 650 cubic mm, respectively. Tumor size in mice given both agents, however, measured on average 350 cubic mm. A parallel to tumor growth inhibition, mice receiving a combination of green tea and celecoxib registered a greater decrease in prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels compared to the group given celecoxib or green tea alone. These results, combined with a marked decrease in the presence of cancer-promoting proteins, offered clear indications that green tea and celecoxib, combined, could be useful in slowing prostate cancer growth, said Hasan Mukhtar, Ph.D., professor of dermatology at the University of Wisconsin and member of Wisconsin’s Paul Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Celecoxib and green tea have a synergistic effect—each triggering cellular pathways that, combined, are more powerful than either agent alone,” he said. The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute.
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