Tomatoes may be better against cancer than lycopene alone

Ever since scientists announced that tomatoes could boost defenses against cancer, particularly of the prostate, people have been diligently throwing tomatoes in salads or digging into dishes made with tomato sauce or tomato paste. A few cut corners by downing nutritional supplements containing the supposed magical ingredient, lycopene, which also provides the fruit’s red color.

Now it seems the tomato eaters were on the right track.

A new study from Ohio State University cancer researchers has found that lycopene pills alone don’t lower the risk of dying from prostate cancer, although tomatoes do.

Among rats with prostate cancer, those fed tomatoes as part of a balanced diet survived longer than those fed a similarly balanced diet that included lycopene supplements and those getting a diet free of lycopene.

No one is calling lycopene useless. But it’s likely that the tomato contains several compounds, including lycopene, that interact in a beneficial way.

The study appeared in Tuesday’s edition of the journal of the National Cancer Institute.

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Jane E. Allen