The American Cancer Society was honored to serve with the American Heart Association and the American Health Foundation, as a cosponsor of The 2nd International Scientific Symposium on Tea and Human Health held September 14—15, 1998, at the United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC. The American Cancer Society hopes that symposia such as this will identify progress in research that contributes to an understanding of the benefits diet and nutrition can provide in cancer control and prevention. The 2nd International Tea Symposium provided both a timely and informative assessment of current research concerning the beneficial impact of tea consumption on human health. As the articles presented here demonstrate, significant advances have been made in our knowledge of tea. Chief among these advances are studies providing fundamental biochemical information about tea, which supports a further expansion of research into its health benefits. Examples include: 1) the identification of new cell functions affected by tea components; 2) information about a variety of variables affecting the final concentration of important components of tea in tea preparations; 3) new information about the antioxidant activity of tea and its ability to reduce oxidative stress; and 4) the identification of a variety of animal models suitable for a more careful and detailed examination of the multiple biological effects of tea. In addition, the symposium identified needed areas of research that would aid a more rapid assessment of the health benefits of tea to humans, such as the contribution of tea consumption to overall intake of dietary antioxidants and the identification of cancer-related biomarkers that respond to tea and its components. Epidemiological studies were presented at this meeting that suggested a beneficial effect of tea consumption on cancer risk in people. However, a historic review of the epidemiological data for a beneficial effect of tea on cancer risk showed mixed results and thus remain inconclusive.
