Good news: Green tea could help prevent lung cancer
Last updated 1/13/2010 2:16:47 PM
Green tea could help prevent lung cancer
Drinking green tea could offer some protection against lung cancer, according to the results of a hospital-based study in Taiwan.
"Lung cancer is the leading cause of all cancer deaths in Taiwan," said I-Hsin Lin, a student at Chung Shan Medical University in Taiwan. "Tea, particularly green tea, has received a great deal of attention because tea polyphenols are strong antioxidants, and tea preparations have shown inhibitory activity against tumorigenesis."
Lin and colleagues enrolled 170 patients with lung cancer and 340 healthy patients as controls. Among smokers and non-smokers, those who did not drink green tea had a 5.16-fold increased risk of lung cancer compared with those who drank at least one cup of green tea per day.
Among smokers, those who did not drink green tea at all had a 12.71-fold increased risk of lung cancer compared with those who drank at least one cup of green tea per day.
"Our study may represent a clue that in the case of lung cancer, smoking-induced carcinogenesis could be modulated by green tea consumption," said Lin.
The research was presented at an American Association for Cancer Research joint conference.
Read also >> Tea and coffee could help reduce diabetes risk