Green Tea Consumption and the Risk of Liver Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

ABSTRACT

Green tea is a commonly consumed beverage in Asia and has been suggested to have anticarcinogenic properties. To date, epidemiological evidence of the effect of green tea consumption on liver cancer risk remains ambiguous. The aim of this meta-analysis is to evaluate the association between green tea consumption and the risk of liver cancer. The summary relative risk for the highest consumption (≥5 cups/day) of green tea on liver cancer incidence compared with nondrinkers was 0.62 (95% confidence interval: 0.49–0.79). We also found a trend that the incidence of liver cancer was reduced with the increasing years of green tea intake (significance at >20 yr). A significant dose–response association was found between green tea drinking and liver cancer risk. The downward trend was most obvious when the consumption of green tea increased up to about 4 cups/day. The results showed that the increasing green tea intake may have a preventive effect against liver cancer.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Major Special Science and Technology Project of China (No. 2012ZX09103101–043).

For this type of study formal consent and informed consent are not required. This article does not contain any studies with human subjects or animals performed by any of the authors.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.