Tomatoes may treat prostate cancer

By Charlene Laino

The stuff that makes tomatoes red appears to shrink prostate tumors, according to preliminary research presented here Monday. In a new study, men with early prostate cancer who took lycopene supplements made from tomato extract showed signs of disease regression and decreased malignancy, reported
Dr. Omer Kucuk of the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit.

A NATURAL antioxidant related to vitamin A that produces the red color in tomatoes, lycopene has already
been shown to help prevent prostate cancer. But the new research is the first to show lycopene
supplements might also be useful in treating existing tumors, Kucuk said.
If the early work pans out in larger trials, "lycopene supplements may have a role in treatment, slowing the
progression of prostate tumors or prolonging the duration of remission.
"And if we can shrink the tumor or keep it stable, these men might be able to avoid surgery altogether,
particularly if they are in their 70s and 80s," he said.

What's your risk of prostate cancer?
Removal of the prostate is often the treatment of choice for men with early cancer confined to the gland.
The work was presented here at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

STUDY DETAILS
For the study, 33 men with cancers confined to their prostate gland who were scheduled for surgery
were randomly assigned to receive either lycopene pills, twice a day, or placebo.

Each supplement, sold under the name Lyc-O-Mato, contained 15 milligrams of lycopene in a pure
tomato extract. While you would have to eat about two pounds of the fruit each day to reap the same benefits,
there’s some evidence that processed foods — tomato sauce, tomato
paste and ketchup — contain more of the natural antioxidants, according to Kucuk.
Following removal of the prostates, the glands were analyzed to determine what effect the supplements had on
the disease.

Among the findings:
Those who took the supplements had smaller tumors than those who took placebo.
Levels of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a tumor marker in the blood, decreased 20 percent more in the
group who took supplements, compared with the placebo group. The higher the PSA levels, the more likely a cancer
has spread. Moderate to severe premalignant lesions — a precursor of cancer — were observed in all 12 patients
who took placebo, but in only 11 of the 21 patients on lycopene.
Cancers spread beyond the prostate in two of 16 lycopene patients in whom it was measured, but in six of
nine placebo patients. In addition, some the tumors of men who took supplements actually shrunk, Kucuk said.


Lycopene probably fights cancer in a number of ways, according to the Detroit oncologist, preventing cancer cells
from spreading, while killing others off. Like all antioxidants, the plant chemical sops up the oxygen-free radicals that can damage DNA, leading to cancer.
"This is a major advance," commented Dr. Frank Raucher of the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia. "To see such clear-cut benefits in just three weeks is surprising, but the data is clear. It does work, and no one questions the veracity of the research." While it may be too early to make recommendations as to whether men with prostate cancer should start taking lycopene supplements, tomatoes are non-toxic, he noted.
And an Israeli company is developing a lycopene-rich tomato, Kucuk said, which could be on the market within
the year.

A diet rich in tomatoes could benefit just about everyone, Kucuk said. Studies indicate that lycopene
appears to protect against cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, stomach, colon, rectum and cervix.

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Lycopersicon lycopersicum is the scientific term for the common tomato
Botanically, tomatoes are a fruit. This is because, generally, a fruit is the edible part of the plant that contains the seeds, while a vegetable is the edible stems, leaves, and roots of the plant.
Tomatoes belong to the same family as nightshade, the tomato's deadly cousin.

A Little Tomato History: The tomato is native to the Americas. It was initially cultivated by Aztecs and Incas as early as 700 A.D. Europeans first saw the tomato when the Conquistadors reached Mexico and Central America in the 16th century. Tomato seeds were taken back to Europe where they quickly found favor in the Mediterranean countries of Spain, Portugal and Italy.



As the tomato traveled north, it was veiled in mystery. The French called it "The Apple of Love," the Germans "The Apple of Paradise;" but the British, while admiring its brilliant red color, disclaimed the tomato as a food--they believed it was poisonous. This same fear persisted among colonists in the United States until the early 19th century; but in 1812, the Creoles in New Orleans put their cooking on the map with their tomato-enhanced gumbos and jambalayas. The people of Maine quickly followed suit, combining fresh tomatoes with local seafood.

By 1850, the tomato was an important produce item in every American city. People were planting tomatoes in their home gardens, while farmers commercially produced fresh tomatoes throughout the year. When cold weather halted local production, consumers relied on areas with temperate climates to furnish their supply of tomatoes.