Can Tomato Consumption Reduce the Risk of Prostate Cancer?
Posted: Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Increased tomato consumption may reduce the risk of prostate cancer, according to a recent study in Cancer Causes & Control. The study suggests the bioavailability of lycopene in tomatoes may be the active ingredient that inhibits prostate cancer. According to Gary E. Fraser, MD, of Loma Linda University, California, and colleagues, “We found that consumption of canned and cooked tomato-based products, measured according to frequency of use, or grams/day of intake, was inversely related to the risk of prostate cancer, as were grams of lycopene from these products.”
Data from a total of 27,934 men enrolled in the Adventist Health Study-2 from 2002 to 2007 were the focus of the study. All patients did not have a prevalent cancer diagnosis, self-reported cancer, or invalid or missing dietary responses. They also had an estimated daily caloric intake of 500 to 4,500 kcal. Subjects kept a dietary record for an annual follow-up of 7.9 years.
During follow-up, 1,226 cases of prostate cancer were recorded, with 355 cases considered to be aggressive. The authors accounted for the association of age, race, and family history with prostate cancer incidence in their analysis.
The frequency of raw tomato consumption did not have a relationship with the rate of prostate cancer, which may be due to the bioavailability of lycopene, proposed the investigators. Subjects who consumed canned and cooked tomatoes more than four times a week had a reduced risk (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.86, 95% confidence interval [CI] = P < .05). The researchers also observed that intake of lycopene from canned and cooked tomatoes displayed an inverse association to the rate of prostate cancer (HR = 0.86, 95% CI = P < .05). Heating and cooking tomatoes may allow the stored lycopene to be bioavailable, as this separates the lycopene from carrier proteins, the investigators suggested.
Disclosure: The study authors reported no conflicts of interest.
