(NaturalNews) According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a form of cancer that causes the number of white blood cells called B lymphocytes, or B cells, to increase abnormally. Eventually, the cancerous cells can move through the blood to the liver, spleen, and other organs. When CLL spreads, it is usually treated with an arsenal of side effect-laden chemotherapies. But new research has revealed a natural substance -- an extract of green tea -- may have the ability to put the brakes on CLL.

Mayo Clinic researchers recently announced these findings in Chicago at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). In a phase II clinical trial, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), the major component of green tea, halted the progression in the majority of CLL patients.

The research is the latest in a series of Mayo studies that shows EGCG appears to have a powerful yet non-toxic impact on CLL. About eight years ago, Mayo scientists first tested EGCG in the lab and documented it reduced the survival of CLL cells. This was followed by a successful phase I clinical trial, published last May in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, that showed the leukemia cell count was not only reduced in one-third of the study participants, but a majority of patients in the trial with enlarged lymph nodes due to CLL saw a 50 percent or greater reduction in their lymph node size.

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