Among green tea catechins, EGCg has been shown to exhibit optimal anticancer activity, which is associated with the number of ‑OH groups. Therefore, in the present study, EGCg was adopted as a well‑characterized model catechin. The aim of the present study was to identify the major molecule that mediates proapoptotic cell death by EGCg. To achieve this objective, the A549 human non‑small‑cell lung cancer cell line was used and the effect of EGCg on cell proliferation and the induction of mRNA that modulates apoptotic cell death was evaluated.