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By Neil Sherman, HealthAtoZ contributing writer
There's good news for all you men who love Italian food. A recent study found that eating a daily serving of tomato sauce can help slow or prevent prostate cancer.
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago say the secret of tomato sauce is that it is chock-full of lycopene, the chemical that makes tomatoes and fruits such as grapefruit and guavas red and may prevent the kind of DNA damage linked to the cancerous growth of prostate cells.
Can an antioxidant fight prostate cancer?
"The supposition is that lycopene, or something else in the tomato, acts as an antioxidant, and antioxidants protect DNA from damage," says lead author Phyllis Bowen, an associate professor in the University of Illinois at Chicago's department of human nutrition. "And even for someone who already has prostate cancer, lycopene may further retard prostate cancer growth since one of the main signatures of the cancer is that it is very slow growing."
Bowen and her colleague fed 32 African-American men - all prostate cancer patients - a daily dish of pasta and tomato sauce for three weeks just prior to removal of the diseased prostate. The prostate, a small gland located between the rectum and the bladder, creates semen and is therefore is an essential part of a man's sexual organs.
"We fed them pasta dishes - frozen stuffed shells, rigatoni, lasagna, easily microwavable and each with three-quarters of a cup of tomato sauce that delivered 30 milligrams of lycopene. Before they started eating, we measured the lycopene in their blood and their prostate biopsy tissues as well as their DNA damage and their prostate-specific antigen (PSA), which is a biomarker for prostate cancer."
The amount of lycopene in their prostate tissue tripled after three weeks, Bowen says, and their PSA dropped by 17.5 percent. High PSA levels are early warning signs of prostate cancer.
PSA test results are reported as nanograms per milliliter, or ng/ml. Results below 4ng/ml are usually considered normal. Results above 10ng/ml are high, and values between 4 and 10 are considered borderline.
Also, DNA damage was decreased in the men's white blood cells. There was no reduction in their tumors but researchers didn't expect to see that in three weeks. Seven other members of the study, who acted as controls and did not eat tomato sauce, had higher oxidative damage in their prostates, Bowen says. There was no reduction in their tumors, but researchers didn't expect to see that in three weeks.
An undefined substance
"Our conclusion is that some bioactive substance, either lycopene or something else, is having some kind of effect," Bowen says. The findings were published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
An ongoing clinical trial will look at pure lycopene supplements "to sort out whether it's the antioxidant or something else in tomatoes that is acting this way," she adds.
If you don't like tomato sauce, Bowen says other foods rich in lycopene can help. The following are other suggestions men can take for lowering their risk for prostate cancer:
- Eat lots of fruits and vegetables high in lycopene, such as pink grapefruit, cooked tomatoes, guavas and papayas.
- Lower the amount of fatty foods you consume. A high-fat diet has been linked to a greater risk of prostate cancer.
- Exercise regularly. Studies have suggested that men who exercise regularly are at lower risk for prostate cancer.
Black men in general, have the highest rates of prostate cancer in the world. African-American men are one and a half times more likely to get prostate cancer -- and twice as likely to die from the disease than Caucasians. Also, African-Americans seem to get a more aggressive kind of the disease, according to the National Cancer Institute.
For African-American men, genetics may play a role
The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2006, nearly 234,460 cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in men and 27,350 of them will die of the disease. African-American men are twice as likely to die from the disease. Despite evidence that African-American men may be genetically prone to prostate cancer, scientists have yet to prove the connection.
Experts also suggest that lack of health care and annual prostate cancer tests among African-American men may interfere with early detection.
Warning signs
Warning signs for advancing prostate cancer include difficulty or inability to urinate, frequent urination, a weak or interrupted flow of urine, blood in the urine or semen, pain or burning during urination or ejaculation and pain in the lower back, hips, or upper thighs. Prostate cancer is found mainly in men older than 55, and a family history of the disease increases a man's risk. The disease is less common in Asians and Native Americans.
There are no early signs or symptoms of the disease, which makes annual testing a necessity, experts say. African-American men (and those with a family history of prostate cancer) need a physical exam and prostate cancer screening as soon as they turn 40 and every year thereafter, according to the American Cancer Society.
Two tests are commonly used to detect prostate cancer in the absence of any symptoms. One, a digital rectal exam (DRE), is when your doctor feels your prostate through the rectum looking for hard or lumpy areas. The other, a blood test, is used to detect elevated levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a substance made by the prostate.
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External Sources
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American Cancer Society
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University of Illinois at Chicago
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Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Dec. 19, 2001 issue
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This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.
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