Description: THURSDAY, Dec. 6 (HealthDay News) -- A gel derived from black raspberries, a fruit beverage and old-fashioned green tea all hold potential promise as ways to treat or prevent different types of cancer, preliminary research suggests.

"Until now, foods have not been considered good treatments for chronic illness, especially tackling tumors," Greg Jardine, a biochemist at Dr. Red Nutraceuticals in Australia, said at a teleconference Thursday. In fact, "foods can be medicine," added Jardine, co-author of a manufacturer-funded study of a "punch" that appeared to reduce the growth of prostate cancer in mice.

In addition to Jardine's study, two others -- one with people and one with rats -- suggest that a black raspberry gel can reduce oral cancer lesions and green tea can prevent colorectal cancer.

The studies, which are all small and need further confirmation, were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Sixth Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Can