Chemopreventive Effects of Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) in Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Patients

Part 1: Blood draw prior to surgery, followed by surgical resection, and surgical pathologic specimen will be archived. After surgery, patient will be seen in 4-12 weeks to determine if adjuvant chemotherapy is indicated, in which case patient will receive adjuvant therapy. At this visit a blood draw will be done. Part 2: If the patient is stage 0/1/2 and no plan for adjuvant treatments, then the patient will be randomized in a 2:1 manner to EGCG 900 mg daily vs observation (standard of care) for 1 year. Patients randomized to the EGCG arm, will start EGCG within 4-12 weeks of surgery and take EGCG 450 mg PO twice a day. Blood draw will be done at 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 months. Colonoscopy will be done at 1 year from diagnosis, at which time normal colonic tissue biopsies as well as any resected polyps will be collected.