[Karen]

Velcade and green tea

by Karen on Tue Nov 26, 2013 3:22 pm

Hi everyone,

I started back on a drug regimen today - whew! This morning I got: Dexamethasone, 40 mg (so about 10 little pills); Cytoxan (11 pills!); Zometa; and Velcade via the new-to-me sub­cu­tane­ous shot. Oh, and a flu shot I think that was enough for one morning!

I know I've read that green tea can counteract the effectiveness of Velcade. I think the studies I've seen are specifically referring to the green tea extract, though. I was wondering if anyone knows if it's OK to drink an occasional cup of green tea. I like the Trader Joe's candy cane green tea they have available around the holidays, however, I wouldn't be drinking more than a mug full every other day or so. Should I play it safe and just avoid it entirely? Obviously I want the Velcade to work!

Karen

[goldmine848]

Re: Velcade and green tea

by goldmine848 on Tue Nov 26, 2013 3:43 pm

I was a regular green tea drinker before starting Velcade. The warning is to not drink any greeen tea and my doc confirmed. I doubt that there have been studies cdetermining the level that will undermine the Velcade but I wouldn't take the chance and have not.

[Russ]

Re: Velcade and green tea

by Russ on Tue Nov 26, 2013 5:30 pm

Karen,

As I understand it, the EGCG in green tea (which is also sold as an extract) has a chemical structure that bonds with the boron in the Velcade, thereby causing it to flush from the body before it can deal its damage to the myeloma cells.

I am a green tea drinker myself, but go nowhere near it from the day before treatment to about 4 days afterwards. (I still get Velcade IV, and the drug half-life means it is still in my system for about that period.) Not sure how quickly the body absorbs Velcade via sub-q, but I would probably play it safe.

Be well,

Russ

[Dr. Edward Libby]

Re: Velcade and green tea

by Dr. Edward Libby on Tue Nov 26, 2013 9:50 pm

Hello Karen,

Although there is no absolutely definitive answer, an expert opinion was published in Blood in 2009 on this topic. It was the opinion of several myeloma experts (Shah,J. Blood June 4, 2009 vol. 113 no. 23 5695-5696 - full text of article) that it is acceptable to drink green tea in moderation and that green tea is very unlikely to interfere significantly with the efficacy of Velcade. Some of the studies that demonstrated a green tea interference with Velcade's actions used very high doses of green tea, which did not replicate a real world situation. So I say ... enjoy!

[Karen]

Re: Velcade and green tea

by Karen on Thu Dec 05, 2013 7:17 pm

Thank you, Dr. Libby!

I will now happily enjoy my occasional mug of festive green tea during the holiday season

Karen

[StandingTall]

Re: Velcade and green tea

by StandingTall on Sat Dec 07, 2013 12:41 am

Green tea ... festive? What about eggnog?! Good to hear about green tea.

[Ged]

Re: Velcade and green tea

by Ged on Tue Oct 02, 2018 3:19 am

After 9 cycles of Velcade, thalidomide, and dexamethasone (VTD), I was disappointed, to say the least, that my oncologist had not mentioned that green tea may diminish the effectiveness of Velcade:.

Golden, EB, et al., "Green tea polyphenols block the anticancer effects of bortezomib and other boronic acid-based proteasome inhibitors," Blood, June 4, 2009 (full text of article)

However, my reaction occurred before I saw the other posts in this thread.