Monday August 13, 2007 (Foodconsumer.org) -- Use of green tea extract and a mushroom extract may suppress progression or invasiveness of metastatic breast cancer,  A study published in the April 2007 issue of International Journal of Oncology suggests.

The study found green tea extract increased the anticancer effect of an extract of Ganoderma lucidum, a mushroom that is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine to promote health, longevity and treatment of cancer, on cell proliferation and colony formation of breast cancer cells.

Green tea by itself has been associated with reduced risk of a number of cancers in early epidemiologic studies.   Much research has also been done on the anticancer effect of Ganoderma lucidum.

The study by Thyagarajan A, Zhu J and Sliva D from Methodist Research Institute in Indianapolis, Indiana found the effect was mediated by the down regulation of expression of oncogene c-myc in MDA-MB-231 cells.

Both extracts independently inhibited adhesion, migration and invasion of MDA-MB -231 cells, but they have a synergistic effect mediated by the suppression of secretion of urokinase plasminogen activator from breast cancer cells.

The researchers concluded "Our study suggests the potential use of combined green tea and G. lucidum extracts for the suppression of growth and invasiveness of metastatic breast cancers."

Related studies

Ganoderma lucidum inhibits proliferation of human breast cancer cells by down-regulation of estrogen receptor and NF-kappaB signaling. [Int J Oncol. 2006]

Green tea polyphenols modulate secretion of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) and inhibit invasive behavior of breast cancer cells. [Nutr Cancer. 2005]

Inhibition of oxidative stress-induced invasiveness of cancer cells by Ganoderma lucidum is mediated through the suppression of interleukin-8 secretion. [Int J Mol Med. 2006]

Ganoderma lucidum suppresses motility of highly invasive breast and prostate cancer cells. [Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2002]

Ganoderma lucidum suppresses growth of breast cancer cells through the inhibition of Akt/NF-kappaB signaling. [Nutr Cancer. 2004]

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