"Green tea extract may prevent breast cancer cells from manufacturing the new blood vessels necessary to promote cancer cell growth"

Writing in a recent issue of the International Journal of Cancer, the USC researchers noted that the reduction in breast cancer risk among the green tea drinkers held true even among women who had a family history of breast cancer as well as among women who smoked or ate processed foods. Exercise habits - either good or bad - also did not play a role in the outcome for green tea drinkers.

The conclusions of this study support the important results of a 2002 laboratory study. According to a report in Science News, researchers at the University of California and the University of Texas found that green tea extract may prevent breast cancer cells from manufacturing the new blood vessels necessary to promote cancer cell growth. If further research confirms these findings, it may help explain why the green tea drinkers in the USC study were at lower risk of breast cancer, regardless of other health, diet, and family history factors.

Department of Preventive Medicine at USC, October 2003