When you say something as bold as "inhibit cancer," it seems to imply that the researchers have demonstrated that green tea extracts reduced cancer cell growth in an organismal model. Instead, it sounds like that experiment was done in a flask - no doubt telling, but still a far cry from proving that green tea will affect cancer progression in a living model, much less a human being. Dealing with the complex physiological interactions of an organism is a completely different story than dealing with a layer of cells in a flask- the distinction is important. You cannot make the claim that the researchers "used green tea to cure mice who had been infected with cancer and found that the green tea shut down the AhR receptor," because it is simply not true. Nonetheless, the study does seem to indicate the general effect that substances in green tea may have on cancerous cells, and this seems like a viable and interesting area of research that should be pursued, if it hasn't already.
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Joanna-
When you say something as bold as "inhibit cancer," it seems to imply that the researchers have demonstrated that green tea extracts reduced cancer cell growth in an organismal model. Instead, it sounds like that experiment was done in a flask - no doubt telling, but still a far cry from proving that green tea will affect cancer progression in a living model, much less a human being. Dealing with the complex physiological interactions of an organism is a completely different story than dealing with a layer of cells in a flask- the distinction is important. You cannot make the claim that the researchers "used green tea to cure mice who had been infected with cancer and found that the green tea shut down the AhR receptor," because it is simply not true. Nonetheless, the study does seem to indicate the general effect that substances in green tea may have on cancerous cells, and this seems like a viable and interesting area of research that should be pursued, if it hasn't already.
May 2, 2009 - 7:13amThis Comment
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