Scientific evidence of green tea's cancer-fighting properties

The news agency Reuters on March 15 reports a story about scientific findings that shed light on how green tea prevents certain types of cancer. (This story was appeared in many newspapers and on many news websites, such as MSNBC.) The finding were published in the journal Cancer Research.

Some highlights from the story:

• A compound called EGCG in green tea prevents cancer cells from growing by binding to dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), an enzyme that is a recognized, established target for anti-cancer drugs.


• Green tea has about five times as much EGCG as regular tea.


• Says one scientist involved in the study, "EGCG is probably just one of a number of anti-cancer mechanisms in green tea."


• EGCG is structurally similar to, and can kill cancer cells in the same way as, the anti-cancer drug methotrexate.

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