MEMORANDUM FOR: Science Writers and Editors on the Journal Press List: Tomato Sauce May Reduce DNA Damage in Prostate Cancer Patients

Extract

December 13, 2001 (EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE 4 P.M. EST December 18)

A component of tomato sauce may help reduce DNA damage in the prostate, a new study suggests. This may have implications for the prevention or treatment of prostate cancer. The active ingredient appears to be lycopene, an antioxidant found in large amounts in tomatoes.

Men with prostate cancer who consumed one tomato sauce-based pasta entree a day for 3 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 reduction in their blood levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a protein used to assess prostate cancer risk, report Longwen Chen M.D., Ph.D., Phyllis Bowen, Ph.D., R.D., and their colleagues at the University of Illinois at Chicago. 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.