Moderate protective effect found higher in Asian studies and for green tea versus black tea
FRIDAY, Jan. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Tea drinking, in particular drinking green tea, can reduce the risk of endometrial cancer, according to a meta-analysis reported in the December issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Na-Ping Tang, M.D., of the National Shanghai Center for New Drug Safety Evaluation and Research in China, and colleagues screened the medical literature from 1996 to 2009 for studies on the association between tea consumption and endometrial cancer. They evaluated 116 studies and conducted a meta-analysis of seven relevant articles, including two cohort and five case-control studies in Asia and the United States enrolling more than 100,000 subjects combined.
Overall, the researchers found that the combined relatives risk for tea drinkers versus non/lowest drinkers was 0.85. For low to moderate tea drinkers, the relative risk was 0.88, and for high drinkers it was 0.75. The investigators calculated that an increase in tea consumption of two cups per day was associated with a 25 percent decrease in endometrial cancer risk. Analyzing subgroups, tea consumption reduced endometrial cancer risk more in Asian studies. In addition, green tea produced a greater protective effect than black tea.
"Findings from this meta-analysis suggest that tea consumption may reduce the risk of endometrial cancer. Because of the limited number of studies, further prospective studies are needed to explore the protective effect of tea on endometrial cancer," the authors write.
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