CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. Several studies have observed that tomatoes and tomato products, especially tomato
sauce, have a protective effect against prostate cancer. Researchers at the University of Illinois now report
that tomato sauce is also effective in slowing down and perhaps even reversing existing prostate cancer.
Their study involved 32 patients with prostate cancer who were scheduled to undergo a radical
prostatectomy. The participants underwent a baseline examination to determine their lycopene levels, their
PSA (prostate specific antigen) level, and the level of oxidative damage to their DNA (in leukocytes). They
were then fed a pasta dish with tomato sauce (3/4 of a cup of commercial spaghetti sauce) once a day for
three weeks. The additional daily lycopene intake from the sauce was 30 mg.
At the end of the three-week period lycopene levels in the blood plasma had doubled and lycopene levels in
prostate tissue had tripled. The average PSA level had declined from 10.9 ng/mL to 8.7 ng/mL – a drop of
17.5 per cent. The DNA damage indicator in leukocytes dropped by 21.4 per cent after the intervention.
The DNA damage level in actual prostate tissue (removed during surgery) was found to be 28.3 per cent
lower in the tomato sauce group than in a reference group of seven prostate cancer patients who had not
consumed the tomato sauce diet. The researchers conclude that their study "suggests a role for tomato
sauce and possibly for lycopene in the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer."
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