Processed Tomato Products a Good Source Of Lycopene, Study Finds

American Institute for Cancer Research
Thursday, 2 September 1999

Substance Has Been Linked to Lower Cancer Risk

Speaking at the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) 9th Annual Conference Luncheon, David Heber, M.D., Ph.D., presented new evidence that a mixed vegetable juice supplement dramatically increases levels of lycopene in prostate cancer patients, and described how his findings may apply to cancer prevention efforts in the future.

Previous research has suggested a link between high lycopene levels and reduced prostate cancer risk, but Dr. Heber's work is the first to demonstrate that lycopene levels can be directly affected by supplementing the diet with processed tomato products.

"The key issue is bioavailabilty," said Dr. Heber, who is Director and Co-founder of the Center for Human Nutrition at the UCLA School of Medicine. "It's not enough to determine that a certain cancer-fighting substance is present in food. You have to know whether that substance actually gets absorbed by the body's tissues."

Over the last couple of years, Dr. Heber said, tests in the laboratory have suggested that processed tomato products contain greater amounts of lycopene than raw tomatoes. The important issue - whether or not that difference persisted in the body - was not determined.

"With this study," he said, "we have observed a highly significant increase of lycopene and other carotenoids in prostate cancer patients given a mixed juice supplement. This suggests that a juice supplement - and, by extension, processed tomato sauces, soups, and seasonings - can increase the levels of usable lycopene in humans."

Dr. Heber cautioned that the research into lycopene's possible role in fighting cancer is only beginning, and the encouraging results of his study should be viewed in a larger context.

"Processed tomato products should be considered an important part of a plant-based diet in which high fruit and vegetable intake is encouraged," he said.

Overall nutrition is vitally important to cancer prevention because natural substances within fruits, vegetables, grains and beans seem to fight the disease at all stages of its development. Lycopene is only one such substance; thousands more have been identified to date, Dr. Heber said.

New research into these substances, called phytochemicals, and their anti-cancer activity was the subject of the AICR conference at which Heber spoke, entitled Nutrition and Cancer Prevention: New Insights into the Role of Phytochemicals.

In light of this ongoing research, Dr. Heber dismissed the popular notion that people are born with "cancer genes" and can do nothing to protect themselves from contracting the disease.

"We know now that cancer is the result of gene-nutrient interaction. It's important that people realize they are not ticking time-bombs," he said. "Cancer is preventable."

AICR recommends a predominantly plant-based diet high in fruits, vegetables, grains and beans to ensure a rich and varied supply of cancer-fighting phytochemicals.

For more information, or to contact American Institute for Cancer Research, see their website at: www.aicr.org