“The most immediate conclusion from our study is the strong advice that patients undergoing cancer therapy with Velcade must avoid green tea,” associate professor Axel H. Schönthal said.
Photo/Lauren WalserUSC researchers have found that – contrary to popular assumptions about the health benefits of green tea – the widely used supplement renders a cancer drug used to treat multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma completely ineffective.
The study, which found that a component of green tea extract (GTE) called EGCG destroys any anti-cancer activity of the drug Velcade in tumor-bearing mice, will be published in a future print edition of the journal Blood. It is now available online at the journal’s pre-publication First Edition Web site.
“Our finding that GTE or EGCG blocked the therapeutic action of Velcade was completely unexpected,” said lead author Axel H. Schönthal, associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “Our hypothesis was that GTE or EGCG would enhance the anti-tumor effects of Velcade and that a combination of GTE with Velcade (or EGCG with Velcade) would turn out to be a superior cancer treatment as compared to treatment with Velcade alone.”
“The most immediate conclusion from our study is the strong advice that patients undergoing cancer therapy with Velcade must avoid green tea,” associate professor Axel H. Schönthal said.
Photo/Lauren WalserUSC researchers have found that – contrary to popular assumptions about the health benefits of green tea – the widely used supplement renders a cancer drug used to treat multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma completely ineffective.
The study, which found that a component of green tea extract (GTE) called EGCG destroys any anti-cancer activity of the drug Velcade in tumor-bearing mice, will be published in a future print edition of the journal Blood. It is now available online at the journal’s pre-publication First Edition Web site.
“Our finding that GTE or EGCG blocked the therapeutic action of Velcade was completely unexpected,” said lead author Axel H. Schönthal, associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “Our hypothesis was that GTE or EGCG would enhance the anti-tumor effects of Velcade and that a combination of GTE with Velcade (or EGCG with Velcade) would turn out to be a superior cancer treatment as compared to treatment with Velcade alone.”
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