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Researchers Credit Processed Tomato Products
With Reduced Cancer Risk
NEW YORK, March 3, 1997 -- Tomato sauce, tomato ketchup and
tomato paste -- three staples of the American diet -- may reduce the
risk for developing prostate, digestive tract and other cancers, according to
research reviewed at a symposium held at the American Health Foundation.
Investigators from the Harvard School of Public Health, the
Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Tufts University, the USDA and leading
European research institutions gathered to present and review a compilation of
studies that now link the consumption of tomatoes and tomato products to a
reduction in risk for the development of several forms of cancer. The findings
presented today also suggest that the presence of lycopene, a little-known
carotenoid found most abundantly in tomato products, may be a factor contributing
to the reduction in cancer risk associated with tomato consumption.
"The beneficial effects of tomato products have been clearly
demonstrated today," said John Weisburger, Ph.D., symposium chairman and
director emeritus of the American Health Foundation. "Previous studies
have already shown that lycopene, the carotenoid that gives tomatoes their
distinctive red color, functions as a powerful antioxidant. Other research
suggests that lycopene is twice as potent an antioxidant as beta-carotene, its
better-known cousin. Understanding what this means in terms of disease prevention,
and of cancer prevention in particular, is a matter of great importance to
public health, and one of great interest to the scientific community," Weisburger added.
Increased attention to lycopene research began in 1995 following the publication
of an epidemiological study by Edward Giovannucci, M.D., of
the Harvard School of Public Health, that identified a relationship
between consumption of processed tomato products and a reduction in the risk of
prostate cancer. In today's meeting, these findings were expanded upon by
Steven K. Clinton, M.D., Ph.D., of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, who
recently published clinical research supporting Dr. Giovannucci's
epidemiological evidence. "The data strongly suggests that tomato products should be a
component of a healthy dietary pattern that includes at least five servings
of fruits and vegetables per day," said Dr. Clinton. An additional epidemiological
study documenting the relationship between tomato product consumption and a reduced
risk of digestive tract and other cancers was presented by Carlo
LaVecchia, M.D., of the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in
Milan. The health benefits of the Mediterranean diet are accounted for by
extensive use of tomato products.
The human body does not produce lycopene, so the beneficial
effects of this carotenoid can only be obtained through the diet. Processed
tomato products provide the most abundant source of lycopene, but the amount
of lycopene consumed is not as important to disease prevention as is the
amount actually absorbed by the body. Research conducted by Helmut Sies,
M.D., of the Heinrich Heine University in Dusseldorf, Germany, revealed
that lycopene is best absorbed by the body when consumed as tomatoes that have
been heat-processed using a small amount of oil. Gary R. Beecher,
Ph.D. of the
USDA, has confirmed this finding in independent studies.
In describing the research, Dr. Clinton noted, "Lycopene
appears to be more efficiently absorbed from sauce, paste or tomato ketchup than
it is from raw tomatoes. Not only does processing concentrate the amount of
lycopene present, but it has also been suggested that the small amount
of lipid found in processed foods may increase lycopene absorption."
Looking towards the future, researchers hope to find out how
lycopene relates to -- and interacts with -- other antioxidants and
carotenoids, in order to better understand the role lycopene plays in disease prevention.
Updates on two ongoing studies were presented by Leonard Cohen, Ph.D., of
the American Health Foundation and Elizabeth J. Johnson, Ph.D., of the
Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University.
In discussing his work with animal models, Dr. Cohen reported
on his strategies to enhance absorption of dietary lycopene in experimental
animals. His results demonstrated that most of the stored lycopene is concentrated
in the animals' liver, where it undergoes metabolism in a manner similar to
treat that found in humans. How these concentrations are affected by, and how
they interact withbeta-carotene and Vitamin E -- two other antioxidants also
stored there in high concentrations -- is the focus of his continuing investigation.
In discussing her findings on work with human subjects, Dr.
Johnson, an expert on the effects of beta-carotene, noted that, "Due to the
similarity of their chemical structures, we are able to make important
comparisons between lycopene and beta-carotene."
Dr. Johnson presented data demonstrating that lycopene blood
levels are seemingly unaffected by smoking and alcohol intake -- unlike
those of beta-carotene in which bloodstream levels are lower with
smoking and alcohol consumption. Dr. Johnson also suggested that this difference
may, in part, be due to the dietary intake of lycopene, but stressed that
lycopene appears to be less affected by lifestyle factors such as smoke or alcohol.
"Given that lycopene is a major dietary and serum carotenoid
in the U.S.population, and that there is an inverse association between
lycopene intake and the development of several forms of cancer, the metabolism
and biological function of lycopene and its breakdown products needs further
evaluation," she concluded.
The day-long meeting was sponsored by the American Health
Foundation and the Tomato Research Council. The American Health Foundation
was founded in 1969 as a research organization dedicated to prevention of
major chronic disease such as various cancers and heart disease.
In response to new research linking a wide range of health
benefits to processed tomato products, The Tomato Research Council was established
to educate the public about the importance of processed tomatoes, and
encourage and coordinate further study of the potential nutritional
benefits of processed tomato products.
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