Previous studies have suggested that the antitumor effect of EGCG may be associated with tumor cell proliferation-inhibiting enzymes (including urokinase plasminogen activator, insulin-like growth factor-1, matrix metalloproteinases, epidermal growth factor receptor, cell cycle regulatory protein and vascular endothelial growth factor), signal transduction pathway blockage (including the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase, nuclear factor-κB, Ras/Raf/mitogen-activated protein kinase and activator protein-1 signaling pathways) and the induction of cell apoptosis pathways (18,19). This evidence concerns the gene PLAU and neoplasm.