Green tea intake and colorectal cancer risk in Japan: the Takayama study

Reportedly, green tea has a preventive effect against colorectal cancer in animal models. Nevertheless, results from epidemiological studies of the association between green tea consumption and colorectal cancer have been inconsistent. We aimed to evaluate colorectal cancer risk in relation to green tea consumption in a population-based prospective cohort study.

Subjects were 13 957 men and 16 374 women aged ≥35 years in September 1992. The participants' green tea consumption was elicited by administering a food frequency questionnaire. The colorectal cancer incidence was confirmed through regional population-based cancer registries and histological identification from colonoscopy in two main hospitals in the study area. Colorectal cancer was defined as the sum of code C18 (colon cancer) and codes C19 and C20 (rectal cancer) according to ICD-10.

Up to March 2008, 429 men and 343 women were diagnosed with colorectal cancer. No significant association was found between green tea consumption and colorectal cancer in men and women, respectively. However, for men, compared with the group of 'none or less than once per day' of green tea consumption, the multiple-adjusted relative risks (95% CIs) for colon cancer were 1.32 (0.90, 1.94), 0.76 (0.57, 1.02), and 0.78 (0.49, 1.22), respectively, in the group of 'once per day,' '2-3 times per day', and 'four times per day or more' (trend P = 0.045).

This study observed no overall significant associations between green tea consumption and colorectal cancer risk, except that there was a weak trend for greater consumption of green tea with decreased risk of male colon cancer.