US researchers warn that people using a cancer drug used to treat multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma should not drink green tea or take green tea supplements. Their recent animal study showed that a compound in green tea, EGCG, destroys any anticancer activity of the drug Velcade in tumor-bearing mice. The researchers found the EGCG molecule and the Velcade molecule were able to form chemical bonds, meaning that the Velcade molecule could no longer bind to its intended target inside the tumor cells. The researchers are also studying another well-established chemotherapeutic drug, where in that case the inclusion of EGCG appears to yield an ‘encouragingly beneficial’ outcome.
Source: University of Southern California, Feb 3, 2009
