Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), also known as epigallocatechin-3-gallate, is an ester of epigallocatechin and gallic acid. EGCG, abundantly found in tea, is a polyphenolic flavonoid that has the potential to affect human health and disease. EGCG interacts with various recognized cellular targets and inhibits cancer cell proliferation by inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. In addition, scientific evidence has illustrated the promising role of EGCG in inhibiting tumor cell metastasis and angiogenesis. It has also been found that EGCG may reverse drug resistance of cancer cells and could be a promising candidate for synergism studies. The prospective importance of EGCG in cancer treatment is owed to its natural origin, safety, and low cost which presents it as an attractive target for further development of novel cancer therapeutics. A major challenge with EGCG is its low bioavailability which is being targeted for improvement by encapsulating EGCG in nano-sized vehicles for further delivery. However, there are major limitations of the studies on EGCG, including study design, experimental bias, and inconsistent results and reproducibility among different study cohorts. Additionally, it is important to identify specific EGCG pharmacological targets in the tumor-specific signaling pathways for development of novel combined therapeutic treatments with EGCG. The present review highlights the ongoing development to identify cellular and molecular targets of EGCG in cancer. Furthermore, the role of nanotechnology-mediated EGCG combinations and delivery systems will also be discussed.

表没食子儿茶素没食子酸酯 (EGCG)，也称为表没食子儿茶素-3-没食子酸酯，是表没食子儿茶素和没食子酸的酯。EGCG 大量存在于茶中，是一种多酚类黄酮类化合物，有可能影响人类健康和疾病。EGCG 与各种公认的细胞靶标相互作用，并通过诱导细胞凋亡和细胞周期停滞来抑制癌细胞增殖。此外，科学证据表明 EGCG 在抑制肿瘤细胞转移和血管生成方面具有良好的作用。还发现EGCG可以逆转癌细胞的耐药性，并可能成为协同作用研究的有希望的候选者。EGCG 在癌症治疗中的潜在重要性归因于其天然来源、安全性和低成本，这使其成为进一步开发新型癌症疗法的有吸引力的目标。EGCG 的一个主要挑战是其低生物利用度，这是通过将 EGCG 封装在纳米尺寸的载体中以进一步递送来改进的目标。然而，关于 EGCG 的研究存在重大局限性，包括研究设计、实验偏倚以及不同研究队列之间的不一致结果和可重复性。此外，重要的是要确定肿瘤特异性信号通路中的特定 EGCG 药理学靶点，以开发与 EGCG 联合治疗的新疗法。本综述强调了在癌症中识别 EGCG 的细胞和分子靶点的持续发展。此外，还将讨论纳米技术介导的 EGCG 组合和递送系统的作用。