Celebrex combined with green tea may fight prostate cancer

According to a U.S. study, a component of green tea, consumed in conjunction with low doses of the cox-2 inhibitor painkiller Celebrex, may be able to slow prostate cancer growth.

Previous research found that, individually, both the green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a known antioxidant, and cox-2 inhibitors helped fight prostate cancer in animals.

In this particular study of cultured human prostate cancer cells and mice, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that an exclusive combination of EGCG and the cox-2 inhibitor celecoxib (Celebrex) was 15 percent to 28 percent more effective in slowing the growth of cancer cells than either agent alone.

The study was funded by the U.S. National Cancer Institute, and published in the March 1st issue of the Clinical Cancer Research medical journal.

"Celecoxib and green tea have a synergistic effect - each triggering cellular pathways that, combined, are more powerful than either agent alone. We hope that a clinical trial could lead to a preventative treatment as simple as tea time," Hasan Mukhtar, professor of dermatology and a member of the Paul CarboneComprehensive Cancer Center, said in a prepared statement.

"Prostate cancer typically arises from more than one defect in the cellular mechanics, which means that a single therapeutic might not work fighting a particular cancer long-term. If tests in human trials replicate (the results of this study), we could see a powerful combined therapy that is both simple to administer and relatively cost effective," Mukhtar said.