Can mushrooms and green tea help reduce breast cancer risk?

A team of researchers in Western Australia conducted a case-control study in South-East China to investigate the effects of mushrooms and green tea in a group of over 2000 women consuming a traditional Chinese diet, 1000 of whom had a confirmed breast cancer diagnosis.

Information on mushroom intake and tea consumption, usual diet, and lifestyle were collected by face-to-face interview between 2004 and 2005. 

Women who ate more than the equivalent of about half a mushroom each day (10g) were about two thirds less likely to develop breast cancer than those who reported not consuming any mushrooms. When the effect of green tea consumption was also taken into account, the protective effect was increased further.  

“These results support those of previous studies suggesting that mushrooms and green tea are protective,  however further research is required to determine what antioxidants in these foods may be responsible for the reduction in breast cancer”, commented Kellie Bilinski, Research Team Leader and Dietitian at the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute (BCI).  

Ref: International Journal of Cancer (2009) 124; 6: 1404-1408