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Green tea consumption and risk of hematologic neoplasms: the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation of Cancer Risk (JACC Study)

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Abstract

Purpose

Experimental studies suggested that green tea may have an anticancer effect on hematologic neoplasms. However, few prospective studies have been conducted.

Methods

A total of 65,042 individuals aged 40–79 years participated in this study and completed a self-administered questionnaire about their lifestyle and medical history at baseline (1988–1990). Of these, 52,462 individuals living in 24 communities with information on incident hematologic neoplasms available in the cancer registry, who did not have a history of cancer and provided valid information on frequency of green tea consumption, were followed through 2009. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the incidence of hematologic neoplasms according to green tea consumption were analyzed.

Results

The incidence of hematologic neoplasms during a median follow-up of 13.3 years was 323. Compared with the never-drinkers of green tea, the multivariate HRs and 95% CIs for total hematologic neoplasms in green tea drinkers of ≤ 2 cups/day, 3–4 cups/day, and ≥ 5 cups/day were 0.65 (0.42–1.00), 0.73 (0.47–1.13), and 0.63 (0.42–0.96), respectively. The association was more prominent for acute myeloid leukemias and follicular lymphomas.

Conclusions

The present cohort study suggests a protective effect of green tea against hematologic neoplasms, especially acute myeloid leukemias.

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Acknowledgments

We express our appreciation to Drs Kunio Aoki and Yoshiyuki Ohno, Professors Emeriti of the Nagoya University School of Medicine and former chairpersons of the JACC Study. We are also greatly indebted to Dr Haruo Sugano, former Director of the Cancer Institute, Tokyo, who greatly contributed to the initiation of the JACC Study; Dr Tomoyuki Kitagawa, Director Emeritus of the Cancer Institute of the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research and former chairman of the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on the Priority Area ‘Cancer’; and Dr Kazao Tajima of the Aichi Cancer Center, who was the previous chairman of the Grant-in Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas of Cancer Epidemiology, for their warm encouragement and support of this study. A complete membership list appears in the Appendix. We are also grateful to Ms Flaminia Miyamasu, Medical English Communications Center (MECC), University of Tsukuba, for providing editorial assistance. We also thank Ms Utako Murai, Ms Rie Usuki, and Dr Tomomi Kihara for providing technical assistance.

Funding

The JACC Study was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT) (Monbusho); Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas of Cancer; and Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas of Cancer Epidemiology from MEXT (MonbuKagaku-sho) (Nos. 61010076, 62010074, 63010074, 1010068, 2151065, 3151064, 4151063, 5151069, 6279102, 11181101, 17015022, 18014011, 20014026, 20390156, and 26293138); and JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP 16H06277.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, and Health Services Research and Development Center, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, 305-8575, Japan

    Midori Takada, Kazumasa Yamagishi & Hiroyasu Iso

  2. Osaka Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, 1-6-107 Morinomiya, Osaka, 536-8588, Japan

    Midori Takada

  3. Public Health, Department of Social Medicine, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, 565-0871, Japan

    Midori Takada & Hiroyasu Iso

  4. Department of Public Health, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Kita 15 Nishi 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-8638, Japan

    Akiko Tamakoshi

Authors
  1. Midori Takada
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  2. Kazumasa Yamagishi
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  3. Hiroyasu Iso
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  4. Akiko Tamakoshi
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Correspondence to Kazumasa Yamagishi.

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Appendix: study group membership list

Appendix: study group membership list

Current members of the JACC Study Group include: Dr. Akiko Tamakoshi (present chairperson of the study group), Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine; Dr. Mitsuru Mori, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine; Dr. Yoshihiro Kaneko, Akita University Graduate School of Medicine; Dr. Ichiro Tsuji, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine; Dr. Yosikazu Nakamura, Jichi Medical School; Dr. Hiroyasu Iso, Osaka University School of Medicine; Dr. Kazumasa Yamagishi, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba; Dr. Haruo Mikami, Chiba Cancer Center; Dr. Michiko Kurosawa, Juntendo University School of Medicine; Dr. Yoshiharu Hoshiyama, Yokohama Soei University; Dr. Naohito Tanabe, University of Niigata Prefecture; Dr. Koji Tamakoshi, Nagoya University Graduate School of Health Science; Dr. Kenji Wakai, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine; Dr. Shinkan Tokudome, National Institute of Health and Nutrition; Dr. Koji Suzuki, Fujita Health University School of Health Sciences; Drs. Shuji Hashimoto and Hiroshi Yatsuya, Fujita Health University School of Medicine; Dr. Shogo Kikuchi, Aichi Medical University School of Medicine; Dr. Yasuhiko Wada, Faculty of Nutrition, University of Kochi; Dr. Takashi Kawamura, Kyoto University Health Service; Dr. Yoshiyuki Watanabe, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine Graduate School of Medical Science; Dr. Kotaro Ozasa, Radiation Effects Research Foundation; Dr. Tsuneharu Miki, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine Graduate School of Medical Science; Dr. Chigusa Date, School of Human Science and Environment, University of Hyogo; Dr. Kiyomi Sakata, Iwate Medical University; Dr. Yoichi Kurozawa, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine; Drs. Takesumi Yoshimura and Yoshihisa Fujino, University of Occupational and Environmental Health; Dr. Akira Shibata, Kurume University; Dr. Naoyuki Okamoto, Kanagawa Cancer Center; and Dr. Hideo Shio, Long-Term Care Health Facility Caretown Minamikusatu, Shiga.

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Takada, M., Yamagishi, K., Iso, H. et al. Green tea consumption and risk of hematologic neoplasms: the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation of Cancer Risk (JACC Study). Cancer Causes Control 30, 1223–1230 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-019-01220-z

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