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A Prospective Study of Lycopene and Tomato Product Intake and Risk of Prostate Cancer

¹ Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Intramural Research Program, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland; ² Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; ³ Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, New York University, New York, New York; ⁴ Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama; and ⁵ Division of Urologic Oncology, University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado

Requests for reprints: Richard B. Hayes, EPN 8114, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892. Phone: 301-435-3973; Fax: 301-402-1819. E-mail: hayesr{at}mail.nih.gov

Background: Dietary lycopene and tomato products may reduce risk of prostate cancer; however, uncertainty remains about this possible association.

Methods: We evaluated the association between intake of lycopene and specific tomato products and prostate cancer risk in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial, a multicenter study designed to investigate cancer early detection methods and etiologic determinants. Participants completed both a general risk factor and a 137-item food frequency questionnaire at baseline. A total of 1,338 cases of prostate cancer were identified among 29,361 men during an average of 4.2 years of follow-up.

Results: Lycopene intake was not associated with prostate cancer risk. Reduced risks were also not found for total tomato servings or for most tomato-based foods. Statistically nonsignificant inverse associations were noted for pizza [all prostate cancer: relative risk (RR), 0.83; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.67-1.03 for 1 serving/wk versus < 0.5 serving/mo; P_trend = 0.06 and advanced prostate cancer: RR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.56-1.10; P_trend = 0.12] and spaghetti/tomato sauce consumption (advanced prostate cancer: RR = 0.81, 95% CI, 0.57-1.16 for 2 servings/wk versus < 1 serving/mo; P_trend = 0.31). Among men with a family history of prostate cancer, risks were decreased in relation to increased consumption of lycopene (P_trend = 0.04) and specific tomato-based foods commonly eaten with fat (spaghetti, P_trend = 0.12; pizza, P_trend = 0.15; lasagna, P_trend = 0.02).

Conclusions: This large study does not support the hypothesis that greater lycopene/tomato product consumption protects from prostate cancer. Evidence for protective associations in subjects with a family history of prostate cancer requires further corroboration. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(1):92–8)

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