Tomato Sauce Good for Men with Prostate Cancer

Previous studies have shown that a diet high in cooked tomato products helps prevent prostate cancer.  Tomatoes are rich in the antioxidant lycopene, which accumulates in prostate tissue.  New research from the University of Illinois in Chicago shows that lycopene may also benefit men who already have prostate cancer.

Patients who consumed one daily pasta dish with 1/2 cup of tomato sauce (providing about 30 milligrams of lycopene) for three weeks had lower levels of DNA damage in prostate tissue and cells.  The study included 32 men with prostate cancer.  Lycopene concentrations increased three-fold in prostate tissue after three weeks of this diet, and DNA damage to cells declined.  This suggests that men who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer might benefit by the addition of tomato products to their diet.  Lycopene is best absorbed from cooked tomatoes.  J National Cancer Inst. 2001;93:1872.