Conditions: Lung Cancer Prevention
Keywords: lung cancer prevention green tea former smokers
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 178
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
RATIONALE: Chemoprevention is the use of certain substances to keep cancer from forming, growing, or coming back. The use of green tea or polyphenon E may prevent cancer from forming in former smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

PURPOSE: This randomized phase II trial is studying how well green tea or polyphenon E work in preventing lung cancer in former smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Detailed description:
OBJECTIVES:

Primary

* Evaluate the effects of high-level oral consumption of defined green tea (four 12-oz servings/day) or polyphenon E capsules (4 capsules/day) on markers of cellular oxidative damage, as measured by 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and 8-F\_2-isoprostanes (8-epi-PGF2) in former smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Secondary

* Evaluate the effects of high-level oral consumption of defined green tea or polyphenon E capsules on body antioxidant status (carotenoids, vitamins A and E, ascorbic acid \[vitamin C\] and antioxidant enzymes \[catalase and glutathione peroxidase\]) in blood in these patients.
* Evaluate the effects of high-level oral consumption of defined green tea or polyphenon E capsules on gene expression of markers of proliferation and apoptosis in induced sputum in these patients.

Tertiary

* Evaluate the effects of high-level oral consumption of defined green tea or polyphenon E capsules on lung function in these patients.
* Evaluate the relative adherence to use of green tea beverage vs polyphenon E capsules in these patients.

OUTLINE: This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Patients are stratified according to gender and inhaled steroid usage (yes vs no).

All patients receive placebo tea beverage and placebo capsules 4 times a day for 2 weeks. Patients are randomized to 1 of 3 treatment arms after successful completion of the 2-week period.

* Arm I (green tea beverage): Patients receive oral green tea beverage and oral polyphenon E placebo daily for 6 months.
* Arm II (green tea capsule \[polyphenon E\]): Patients receive oral green tea beverage placebo and oral polyphenon E daily for 6 months.
* Arm III (placebo): Patients receive oral green tea beverage placebo and oral polyphenon E placebo daily for 6 months.

Patients undergo blood, urine, exhaled breath condensate (EBC), induced sputum, and buccal cell collection at baseline and periodically during study for biomarker/laboratory analysis. Blood samples are analyzed for 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), glutathione peroxidase, and catalase. Urine is examined for F\_2-isoprostanes, 8-OHdG, and tea polyphenols. Induced sputum broncho-epithelial cells are analyzed for gene expression of genes implicated in cellular growth and apoptotic pathway via reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. EBC samples are examined for F\_2-isoprostane levels. Buccal cells are stored for future analysis.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 195 patients will be accrued for this study.

Arms:
arm 1: Patients receive green tea beverage and placebo capsules for 6 months. arm 2: Patients receive placebo beverage and Polyphenon E capsules daily for 6 months. arm 3: Patients receive placebo beverage and placebo capsules daily for 6 months.

Interventions: intervention 1: green tea intervention 2: Polyphenon E intervention 3: placebo
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Given orally intervention 2: Given orally intervention 3: Given orally

Protocol document: