Lung Cancer

EGCG is the best-studied green tea catechin, and lung cancer — especially NSCLC — is one of the most mechanistically relevant targets because of EGFR-driven biology.

Overview

The lung cancer literature focuses on EGFR signalling, apoptosis, cell-cycle arrest, migration, invasion, and newer nanoparticle-delivery work.

Key human data

• Epidemiological signals suggest modest inverse association between green tea intake and lung cancer risk, especially in never-smokers

• Early clinical combination work with EGFR-targeted therapy remains exploratory

Key preclinical data

• EGCG blocks EGFR phosphorylation and downstream Akt/ERK/mTOR signalling in NSCLC models

• Causes G0/G1 arrest and reduces colony formation

• Nanoparticle EGCG improves cytotoxicity, migration, and invasion effects in lung cancer models

• Ferroptosis-related and STAT-linked mechanisms are under active investigation

Clinical positioning

NSCLC is one of the clearer pathway-based rationales for EGCG, especially when EGFR signalling is central to the biology.

References

Effects of Epigallocatechin Gallate Against Lung Cancer
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12899071/

Anticancer effects of epigallocatechin-3-gallate nanoemulsion on lung cancer cells
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-62136-2