BETHESDA, Md., Dec. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Tomato sauce may both reduce DNA
damage and help prevent and treat prostate cancer according to a new study
released by National Foundation for Cancer Research Project Director Phyllis
Bowen, Ph.D, R.D. at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The active
ingredient appears to be lycopene, an antioxidant found in large amounts in
tomatoes and long thought to provide anti-cancer benefits.
Men with prostate cancer who consumed one tomato sauce-based entree a day
for three weeks had a statistically significant decrease in the amount of DNA
damage in their white blood cells and prostate tissues. The pasta treatments
also led to a marked reduction in their blood levels of prostate specific
antigen (PSA), a protein used to assess prostate cancer risk, report Longwen
Chen MD, PhD, Phyllis Bowen, Ph.D, R.D., and their colleagues with funding
provided by the National Foundation for Cancer Research. The findings appear
in the Dec. 19 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Human prostate tissue may be particularly vulnerable to oxidative DNA
damage caused by free radicals, and an accumulation of this damage may play a
role in the development of prostate cancer. Antioxidants such as lycopene can
help remove free radicals. Tomatoes are especially rich in lycopene.
In past epidemiologic studies, men who reported eating more tomato-based
foods had a lower risk for prostate cancer-the second leading cause of
cancer-related deaths among U.S. men.
In the new study, 32 men with localized prostate cancer had their blood
leukocyte and prostate lycopene concentration, blood PSA levels, and blood
leukocyte DNA damage measured. The subjects then ate one tomato-based pasta
dish a day for three weeks before their scheduled prostate cancer surgery.
Entrees consisted of a three-fourth cup of spaghetti sauce incorporated into
four different dishes: sausage lasagna, baked rigatoni, penne pasta, and
stuffed shells.
After the three-week regimen, and after surgery, there was an accumulation
of lycopene in the prostate tissues and a statistically significant 21.3%
decrease in oxidative DNA damage in leukocytes compared with pre-intervention
levels. Their prostate DNA damage was 28.3% lower than a control group's.
PSA levels decreased 17.5% after the intervention, but the authors note that
it is unclear whether lycopene was the cause of the reduction and guess that
this answer may come from the results of an ongoing clinical trial involving
lycopene and a placebo.
About the National Foundation for Cancer Research
The National Foundation for Cancer Research is a cancer related charity
dedicated to advancing basic science cancer research in the laboratory that
will lead to a cure for cancer. Since 1973 the NFCR has spent over $170
million to fund discovery-oriented research that has played a key role in the
prevention, diagnosis and new treatments of all types of cancer. For more
information, visit them at http://www.NFCR.org or call (800) 321-CURE.
SOURCE National Foundation for Cancer Research
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