Nutrient in Tomatoes May Cut Prostate Cancer Risk

A study has found the first direct evidence that the nutrient that makes tomatoes red may protect men against prostate cancer by shrinking tumors and slowing their spread.

The nutrient, lycopene, has emerged as one of the trendiest of all nutritional supplements in recent years. Large population surveys have suggested that those who eat plenty of tomatoes--the primary natural source of lycopene--are less likely to get prostate cancer and some other malignancies.

To see if tomatoes are truly the reason why, researchers from the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit gave lycopene capsules to men who were about to undergo surgery to remove their cancerous prostate glands.

The study involved 33 men who were randomly assigned to take lycopene for 30 days before their prostate operations. Before surgery, the volunteers showed no obvious signs that their cancer had spread.

After surgery, the doctors found that cancer tissue was less likely to extend clear to the edges of the lycopene users’ prostate glands. And precancerous cells in their prostates were less abnormal-looking.

The findings were presented in Philadelphia on Monday at a meeting of the American Assn. for Cancer Research.

Kucuk warned that his study is small, and cautioned against routine use of lycopene supplements without further evidence.

“The results are significant,” said Dr. Frank Rauscher of the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia. “It’s remarkable that lycopene may have both therapeutic and preventative value.”

Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy among American men. The American Cancer Society estimates that 179,300 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, and 37,000 will die from it.