Findings from
a new study confirm that tea
extracts applied to the skin
promote the repair of damage
from radiotherapy, and shed
light on the mechanisms involved
in the injury. The beneficial
effects of the extracts are
mostly from their ability to
attenuate the body signals that
trigger inflammation.
Radiotherapy interruption because
of toxic effects to the skin may compromise
the outcome of cancer treatment, lead
author Dr. Frank Pajonk, from the
David Geffen School of Medicine at
UCLA stated. "So, it is important
to have an effective treatment for
this problem."
According to Pajonk, "tea extracts
have been used as a folk remedy for
sunburns, which led to their use as
a treatment for radiation-induced
skin toxicity. They have proven quite
successful in this regard, but there
were no scientific data" to clarify
their effects.
In a study reported in the journal
BMC Medicine, the researchers analyzed
the effects of green or black tea
extracts given to 60 patients with
skin damage related to radiotherapy
for head and neck cancers and cancer
in the pelvic region.
Treatment with the tea extracts enhanced
skin repair, the report indicates.
For radiation damage in the head and
neck region, the green and black tea
extracts were comparable in promoting
repair, whereas in the pelvic region,
green tea extract was superior, Pajonk
said.
The tea extracts inhibit a key proteasome,
which "is at the center of the inflammatory
machinery," explained Pajonk. This
effect is associated with a reduction
in several cells that lead to inflammation.
The researchers also found that the
anti-inflammatory effects of the tea
extracts did not stem solely from
epigallocatechin-gallate, considered
the most active component found in
green tea.
Pajonk said that there is now a need
for additional studies to compare
tea extract therapy with standard
treatments for radiation-induced skin
toxicity.
SOURCE: BMC Medicine, December 1,
2006.
