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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2015 Jun;28(3):272-82.
doi: 10.1111/jhn.12229. Epub 2014 Mar 19.

Effects of a green tea extract, Polyphenon E, on systemic biomarkers of growth factor signalling in women with hormone receptor-negative breast cancer

K D Crew  1 , K A Ho  1 , P Brown  2 , H Greenlee  1 , T B Bevers  2 , B Arun  2 , N Sneige  2 , C Hudis  3 , H L McArthur  3 , J Chang  4 , M Rimawi  5 , T L Cornelison  6 , J Cardelli  7 , R M Santella  1 , A Wang  1 , S M Lippman  8 , D L Hershman  1
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Effects of a green tea extract, Polyphenon E, on systemic biomarkers of growth factor signalling in women with hormone receptor-negative breast cancer

K D Crew et al. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2015 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Observational and experimental data support a potential breast cancer chemopreventive effect of green tea.

Methods: We conducted an ancillary study using archived blood/urine from a phase IB randomised, placebo-controlled dose escalation trial of an oral green tea extract, Polyphenon E (Poly E), in breast cancer patients. Using an adaptive trial design, women with stage I-III breast cancer who completed adjuvant treatment were randomised to Poly E 400 mg (n = 16), 600 mg (n = 11) and 800 mg (n = 3) twice daily or matching placebo (n = 10) for 6 months. Blood and urine collection occurred at baseline, and at 2, 4 and 6 months. Biological endpoints included growth factor [serum hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)], lipid (serum cholesterol, triglycerides), oxidative damage and inflammatory biomarkers.

Results: From July 2007-August 2009, 40 women were enrolled and 34 (26 Poly E, eight placebo) were evaluable for biomarker endpoints. At 2 months, the Poly E group (all dose levels combined) compared to placebo had a significant decrease in mean serum HGF levels (-12.7% versus +6.3%, P = 0.04). This trend persisted at 4 and 6 months but was no longer statistically significant. For the Poly E group, serum VEGF decreased by 11.5% at 2 months (P = 0.02) and 13.9% at 4 months (P = 0.05) but did not differ compared to placebo. At 2 months, there was a trend toward a decrease in serum cholesterol with Poly E (P = 0.08). No significant differences were observed for other biomarkers.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest potential mechanistic actions of tea polyphenols in growth factor signalling, angiogenesis and lipid metabolism.

Keywords: breast cancer; chemoprevention; tea polyphenols.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Changes in systemic biomarkers among women with previously treated hormone receptor-negative breast cancer given Polyphenon E (Poly E) versus placebo (n = 34) HGF, hepatocyte growth factor; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor. *P-value < 0.05, paired t-test comparing mean absolute change from baseline within Poly E or placebo groups. ˆ P-value <0.05, two-sample t-test comparing mean absolute change from baseline in Poly E versus placebo groups.
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