Tea consumption and risk of endometrial cancer: a metaanalysis

The objective of the study was to assess the association between tea consumption and endometrial cancer.

Studies were identified by searching PubMed and EMBASE databases and screening the references of retrieved articles. The summary relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated.

The combined RR for ever drinkers vs non/lowest drinkers was 0.85 (95% CI, 0.77-0.94). Compared with non/lowest drinkers, the summary RR was 0.88 (95% CI, 0.78-0.98) for low to moderate drinkers and 0.75 (95% CI, 0.64-0.88) for high drinkers. An increase in tea intake of 2 cups/day was associated with a 25% decreased risk of endometrial cancer. In subgroup analyses, tea consumption was significantly associated with reduced endometrial cancer risk in Asian studies and studies using interviewing techniques. Furthermore, the protective effect of green tea on endometrial cancer seemed more evident than that of black tea.

Findings from this metaanalysis 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.