Green tea, black tea consumption and risk of endometrial cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Several studies have assessed the association between green and black tea consumption and the risk of endometrial cancer (EC) and have yielded inconsistent results.

The purpose of this meta-analysis is to systematically analyze the effect of green tea and black tea on EC risk.

PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and China Biological Medicine Database were searched through February 2, 2015 to identify studies that met pre-stated inclusion criteria. Overall relative risk (RR) was estimated based on the highest and lowest levels of green/black tea consumption. Dose-response relationships were evaluated with the data from categories of green/black tea intake in each study.

For green tea, the summary RR indicated that the highest green tea consumption was associated with a reduced risk of EC (RR 0.78, 95 % CI 0.66-0.92). Furthermore, an increase in green tea consumption of one cup per day was associated with an 11 % decreased risk of developing EC. (RR 0.89, 95 % CI 0.84-0.94). For black tea, no statistically significant association was observed in the meta-analysis (highest versus non/lowest, RR 0.99, 95 % CI 0.79-1.23; increment of one cup/day, RR 0.99, 95 % CI 0.94-1.03). The power of the estimate of green tea and black tea with risk of EC was 84.33 and 5.07 %, respectively. The quality of evidence for the association between green and black tea with EC risk was moderate and very low, respectively.

The results from this meta-analysis indicate that green tea, but not black tea, may be related to a reduction of EC risk. Large population-based randomized controlled trials and large prospective cohort studies are required to obtain a definitive conclusion and determine the mechanisms underlying this association.