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Tomato sauce may reduce prostate cancer risk |
December 18, 2001
The adage "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" may be facing stiff
competition from tomatoes.
Recent research at the University of Illinois at Chicago suggests that
lycopene, an antioxidant found
in large amounts in tomatoes, may play a significant role in preventing
and treating prostate cancer.
The findings appear in the Dec. 19 issue of the Journal of the National
Cancer Institute.
Phyllis Bowen, associate professor of human nutrition, along with Dr.
Longwen Chen, former
research associate, and their UIC colleagues, studied a group of 32
prostate cancer patients who
consumed one tomato sauce-based pasta dish daily for three weeks before
their scheduled
prostatectomies.
Levels of oxidative DNA damage and prostate specific antigen, or PSA (an
enzyme that is an
important marker for the diagnosis of prostate cancer), were measured
before and after the pasta
regimen. Previous studies suggest that human prostate tissue is
particularly vulnerable to oxidative
DNA damage, which occurs when oxygen molecules in the tissue attack the
DNA, creating cellular
instability. This instability can lead to the formation of malignant
tumors.
A high level of lycopene was present in the prostate tissues after the
intervention and surgery and
oxidative DNA damage was reduced by 28 percent, a statistically
significant finding. PSA levels
were reduced by 17.5 percent, but the researchers said more studies are
needed to determine
whether lycopene is responsible for the PSA reduction.
Although other researchers have investigated lycopene in previous
studies, this is the first study of
its kind yielding statistically significant results with a whole food
regimen versus lycopene
supplements.
"We're encouraged by the results of this study," Bowen said. "The lower
prostate oxidative DNA
damage in men consuming tomato sauce suggests a role for tomato sauce
and possibly for
lycopene in the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer."
However, Bowen noted, this study had a small sample size. A larger study
is in progress involving
patients with and without diagnosed prostate cancer.
According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the second
leading cause of
cancer-related deaths in American men (lung cancer ranks first). At the
start of this year, the
society estimated that 198,000 men would be diagnosed with prostate
cancer, with 31,500 deaths.
The research was funded by the National Cancer Institute (one of the
National Institutes of Health)
and Hunt-Wesson, Inc.
University of Illinois at Chicago news release
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