In 2004, a team of scientists had administered a laboratory research study of the influence of EGCG on leukemia cells. The findings can be found in the 2004 edition of the journal Blood. It had been considered that the green tea extract exterminated the destructive leukemia cells.
Another research study regarding green tea extract studied four people suffering from a very common type of blood cancer called CLL. The people were given supplements of green tea extract which contained the potent antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). A decline in cancerous cells in their bodies was observed after the studied period of time. Three-quarters of the patients taking the green tea extract expressed enhanced response to treatment and one had an improved white blood cell count.
Green tea has always been believed to have cancer-prevention capabilities. According to the leader of the study on green tea extract, further studies are essential for establishing the correct process and effect and the quantity of the green tea extract that is the most favorable. Hematologists are now developing an EGCG pill for the US National Cancer Institute to discover whether the extract could be used to treat patients with CLL.Hematologists are now developing an EGCG pill for the US National Cancer Institute to find out whether the extract could be used to treat patients with CLL.
The medicinal community has expressed optimism at the outcome of the study, but felt that it might be too premature to say yet that this is a new treatment for cancer. Around 7300 Americans are identified with CLL every year, with men being more susceptible to the disease than women.