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Green Tea and Gastric Cancer

Results of case-control studies have suggested that the consumption of green tea is associated with reduced risk for gastric cancer. To clarify this potential relation, investigators performed a large, prospective, population-based cohort study in 3 municipalities in northern Japan.

In 1984, more than 26,000 residents older than 40 completed questionnaires regarding their consumption of green tea. Participants were followed through 1992 (199,748 patient-years of follow-up); during this period, 419 people were diagnosed with gastric cancer (296 men and 123 women). Using a Cox proportional hazards model to control for possible confounding variables (including gender, age, peptic ulcer disease, smoking, alcohol use, and environmental and socioeconomic factors), the investigators found no association between green tea consumption and risk for gastric cancer, even after excluding cancers diagnosed in the first 3 years of the study.

Comment: Results of case-control studies often suggest associations between diseases and various risk factors, but because of inherent limitations of study design, cohort studies are needed to confirm or refute these relations. Results from this well-designed, prospective cohort study refute data from previous case-control studies suggesting that green tea is protective against gastric cancer.

— DJ Bjorkman

Published in Journal Watch Gastroenterology April 17, 2001

Citation(s):

Tsubono Y et al. Green tea and the risk of gastric cancer in Japan. N Engl J Med 2001 Mar 1 344 632-636.

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