Pancreatic Cancer

EGCG is the best-studied catechin in green tea, and pancreatic cancer is one of the more compelling mechanistic areas in the EGCG literature.

Overview

The pancreatic cancer evidence includes direct growth inhibition, synergy with gemcitabine, and effects on EMT, invasion, and stem-cell behaviour.

Key human data

• No large phase III oncology treatment trials exist

• Epidemiological signals are mixed but suggest possible risk reduction with higher green tea intake in some cohorts

• Clinical use remains exploratory and adjunctive

Key preclinical data

• EGCG inhibits growth across multiple pancreatic cancer cell lines

• Xenograft work has shown significant tumour-weight reduction without obvious liver or kidney toxicity in treated animals

• EGCG plus gemcitabine produces greater growth inhibition than either agent alone in preclinical models

• EGCG suppresses migration, invasion, and cancer stem-cell signalling pathways such as Wnt/β-catenin and Notch

Clinical positioning

Pancreatic cancer remains a reasonable adjunctive-discussion area because standard options are limited and the preclinical synergy data is strong, but this is not established treatment.

References

Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate Suppresses Pancreatic Cancer Cell Growth, Migration and Invasion in vitro and in vivo
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6722696/

An overview of pre-clinical studies on the effects of EGCG in pancreatic cancer
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28631776/