In this study, we investigated the effects of green tea and black tea, when given either during or after carcinogen treatment, on esophageal tumorigenesis in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats were treated with N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine (NMBzA) (2.5 mg/kg, s.c., twice weekly) for 5 weeks; 39 weeks after the initial dose of NMBzA, 65% of the rats had esophageal tumors with an average of 1.4 +/- 0.3 tumors per rat. In the groups of rats receiving 0.6% of decaffeinated green tea (DGT) or decaffeinated black tea (DBT) (6 mg tea solids/ml) as the sole source of drinking fluid during the NMBzA-treatment period, esophageal tumor incidence and multiplicity were reduced by approximately 70%. When the tea preparations were given after the NMBzA treatment period, the esophageal papilloma incidence and multiplicity were reduced by approximately 50%. The volume per tumor was much smaller in rats that received black tea after the carcinogen treatment period. In a second experiment, NMBzA was given to rats at a dose of 3.5 mg/kg (s.c., twice weekly) for 5 weeks; after 16 weeks, the tumor incidence was 82% and tumor multiplicity was 6.7 +/- 1.2 tumors per rat. In the groups of rats receiving 0.9% regular green tea (RGT) or DGT after the NMBzA treatment period, tumor multiplicity was decreased by > 55%. The volume per tumor was reduced by approximately 60% in the rats receiving 0.9% RGT. Histological analysis indicated that both the incidence and multiplicity of esophageal carcinoma was decreased by either RGT or DGT. The blood and urine levels of green tea polyphenols due to tea administration were determined in rats, and the levels were comparable to those in humans after tea ingestion. The above results indicate that both green tea and black tea can inhibit the tumorigenic action of NMBzA during the period of carcinogen treatment and the subsequent molecular events important for esophageal tumorigenesis.
