EGCG and dog cancer: beyond chemo, radiation and surgery

So you feel that there is more than chemotherapy, radiation and surgery for dogs with cancer? So do I, and we are correct!

Here’s just one example: EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate). This is a naturally occurring substance found in green tea.   EGCG has several anticancer effects that are very real.  This substance is in trials at the Mayo Clinic due to its beneficial effects in human cancers.

Here is the skinny:

In mice, it has been shown to inhibit mammary cancer growth and spread. In the same study it was also been shown to shrink these tumors. EGCG has also been shown to cause apoptosis of sarcoma cells (programmed cell death), and cell cycle arrest (stopping the cancer cells from growing). Here is the link. Similar findings in mice were found using prostate cancer tumors, which shrank when the mice were given this compound. 

In addition, when EGCG was combined with other drugs for cancer (COX-2 inhibitors, like piroxicam commonly used for transitional cell bladder cancer in dogs), less of these other drugs could be used, with greater effect.  Check it out. The benefit: since these drugs had side effects, one could lower the chances of side effects with less drug by adding EGCG to the regimen.

There are also gobs of test tube studies supporting EGCG’s effect against cancer cells of various kinds.

Pundits will say…well, those are only mice!  Not dogs!  Okay, okay.  But dogs and mice are a lot closer than humans and mice, and the Environmental Protection Agency uses mice to assess whether or not something causes cancer in people.  Next,  they pass laws based on that assumption..so the rodent model has validity!!

And the diligence crew will go out and find a study that was done on dogs available on line that ended up with a bunch of dead beagles at the end of the study.  First of all, the authors of this study should be ashamed of themselves.  They used amounts in the ballpark of one hundred times the standard EGCG supplement amounts for weeks on end and killed these dogs.  What is the point? I was aghast after reading this. Yes, drink a hundred glasses of wine a day, drink a hundred cups of coffee a day, you will die too.  Unbelieveable.

Sorry for the rant but this was an agenda-oriented study that served no good use and is really upsetting.

Anyway, if you feel you have too few options, EGCG is one (of many) that may help prolong your dogs life and keep it at good quality.  A new source of purified EGCG is becoming available called Teavigo.  Talk to your vet after presenting the info I cited here. 

CAUTION: do NOT give your dog tea extracts that contain the stimulants that are naturally found therein! Caffeine and methylxanthines in tea can be toxic to dogs!

Consult with your vet before embarking on any treatment plan.  

 

About the Author

Dr. Demian Dressler, DVM is known as the "dog cancer vet" and is author of Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Beyond Surgery, Chemotherapy & Radiation. Visit his blog and sign up free to get the latest information about canine cancer. Go to http://DogCancerBlog.com.

 

Tagged as: Anticancer Effects, Beagles, Beneficial Effects, Black Tea, Bladder Cancer, Cancer Cells, Cancer Growth, Cancer In Dogs, Cancer Radiation, Cancer Tumors, Cell Death, Chemotherapy, Cox 2 Inhibitors, Egcg, Environmental Protection Agency, Epigallocatechin, Gallate, Green Tea, Green Tea Egcg, Human Cancers, Mayo Clinic, Mice, One Hundred Times, Piroxicam, Prostate Cancer, Rodent Model, Transitional Cell