Re: Lycopene beats prostate cancer

From: Leonard Evens (len_at_math.northwestern.edu)
Date: 08/15/04 

Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 10:20:58 -0500

Roman Bystrianyk wrote:
> Roman Bystrianyk, "Lycopene beats prostate cancer", Health Sentinel,
> August 14, 2004, http://www.healthsentinel.com/news.php?event=news_print_list_item&id=120
>
> Prostate cancer is the most frequent type of cancer in American men.
> An estimated 189,000 new cases were diagnosed in the United States in
> 2002, and more than 30,000 men died of the disease. Despite these
> statistics, most men die "with prostate cancer" as opposed to "of
> prostate cancer," because the tumor is often relatively slow growing.
>
> According to the August 2004 issue of American Journal of
> Health-System Pharmacists, the nutrient lycopene maybe quite valuable
> for prostate cancer prevention and treatment. Lycopene is a member of
> the carotenoid family and gives tomatoes, fruits, and vegetables their
> red color. Tomatoes contain a high concentration of lycopene, as do
> other reddish foods such as watermelon, papaya, and pink grapefruit.
>
> A large 1986 study of over 47,000 health care professionals showed
> lycopene was associated with a risk reduction in prostate cancer.
> Other smaller studies show similar positive results in regard to
> lycopene and prostate cancer.
>
> One case report highlighted a 62-year-old man that was not responding
> to conventional therapies and eventually entered hospice. His PSA
> (Prostate Specific Antigen used to measure the progress of prostate
> cancer) was at 365 ng/ml when he entered the hospice in March of 1999.
> At this point he began taking 10 mg lycopene a day and 300 mg of saw
> palmetto 3 times a day. By April of 1999, his PSA had dropped to 139.6
> ng/ml and by May it had decreased to 8.1 ng/ml. It has remained
> between 3.0 and 8.0 ng/ml since that time.

A single case like this doesn't prove anything. A certain small number
of cancers regress for unkown reasons. Since men with advanced
prostate cancer are likely to be trying all sorts of things, it is easy
to jump to the conclusion that some particular thing led to the regression.

On the other hand, eating lots of tomato products would appear not to
have many adverse effects. So for men who have prostate cancer or worry
about getting it, including such things in their diet might help and it
is hard to see how it would hurt.

>
> Lycopene is considered to be completely safe. Although the ideal
> amount to take is not known studies have used between 10 mg/day to 30
> mg/day both of which have been associated with improvement. Lycopene
> or a diet high in lycopene should be part of a plan to prevent
> prostate cancer and as part of a plan in the treatment of prostate
> cancer.
>
> Source: American Journal of Health-System Pharmacists, August 1, 2004,
> Vol. 61, pp. 1562-1566