Fwd: THE MOSS REPORTS Newsletter (01/09/03)

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Thu, 9 Jan 2003 18:37:54 -0500 (EST)

 

THE MOSS REPORTS Newsletter (01/09/03)

 

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Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D. Weekly CancerDecisions.com

Newsletter #68 01/09/03

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Wow, You Coulda Had Some Lycopene!

 

 

 

In a recent study from North Carolina, drinking just

one can (5.5 ounces) per day of the popular vegetable

drink, V-8, raised levels of lycopene in the lungs by

12 percent. It also decreased ozone-induced DNA damage

to the lungs by 20 percent.

 

 

Like beta-carotene, lycopene is a member of the

carotenoid family, a group of colorful plant compounds

that are potent antioxidants. But lycopene is more than

just a lung protectant. Evidence continues to

accumulate that this phytonutrient has powerful

anticancer properties.

 

 

Studies have shown that people who eat lots of tomatoes

and tomato products have less prostate cancer. For

instance, in 1995, the Physicians' Health Study found a

one-third reduction in prostate cancer risk in the

group of men with the highest consumption of tomato

products compared to the group with the lowest

consumption. The authors attributed this protective

effect to the lycopene content of tomatoes.

 

 

A recent clinical trial from Detroit suggests that

lycopene is also powerful medicine for men who already

have prostate cancer. This trial, from the Karmanos

Cancer Institute at Wayne State University, looked at

the impact of short-term lycopene supplements on men

who were facing surgery for newly diagnosed prostate

cancer. The 26 patients in this study were randomly

assigned to receive either a tomato extract (containing

30 milligrams of lycopene) or no supplement for 3 weeks

before undergoing radical prostatectomy.

 

 

Men who received the lycopene supplement had lower

prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and less

aggressive tumors than the non-supplemented control

group. Their tumors were smaller (80 percent of the

tumors were under 4 milliliters (ml) in volume,

compared to 45 percent in the control group). Their

cancer was much more likely to be within the surgical

margins and/or confined to the prostate gland (73

percent, compared to 18 percent of the control group).

And the invasion of the prostate gland by cancer-like

" PIN " cells was completely prevented in this group,

compared to a 33 percent incidence of " PIN " cells in

the control group.

 

 

" This pilot study suggests that lycopene may have

beneficial effects in prostate cancer, " concluded

researcher Omer Kucuk, MD, and colleagues. They called

for larger clinical trials " to investigate the

potential preventive and/or therapeutic role of

lycopene in prostate cancer. "

 

 

Lycopene may also help prevent liver cancer, according

to findings from a study presented at the American

Association for Cancer Research meeting in October

2002. Hoyoku Nishino, MD, of the Kyoto Prefectural

University of Medicine, Japan, presented the results of

this five-year clinical study examining the protective

role of lycopene and other nutrients in people at high

risk of liver cancer. There was a 50 percent decrease

in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC or liver cancer) in

participants who daily consumed 10 milligrams of tomato

lycopene plus other tomato phytonutrients, 10

milligrams of carotenes (30 percent alpha, 60 percent

beta-carotene), and 50 milligrams of alpha-tocopherols

and another form of vitamin E, tocotrienols. These

results suggest that a mixture of natural tomato

extract, carotenes and vitamin E has clinical promise.

 

 

Skeptics at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) say

that " the evidence is weak that lycopene is associated

with a reduced risk [of prostate cancer] because

previous studies were not controlled for total

vegetable intake (i.e., separating the effect of

tomatoes from vegetables in general). " They therefore

state that " specific dietary supplementation with

lycopene remains to be demonstrated to reduce prostate

cancer risk. " This statement appears on the NCI's

Prostate Cancer Prevention web page, which was updated

in September 2002. However, it does not reference the

Detroit study or any scientific article presented or

published after January 2000.

 

 

 

Why Wait?

 

 

 

Few scientists doubt that a high intake of fruits and

vegetables can decrease the rate of prostate and other

forms of cancer, and it is surprising, but not

implausible, that stepping up vegetable consumption

could downgrade malignancies, even in just one month.

The results reported from the Karmanos Center and

elsewhere are very exciting. Any patient facing cancer

would certainly want to see these dramatic effects on

his or her malignancy. The main scientific question

seems to be whether these changes are caused by

lycopene itself or by some other nutrients in

vegetables.

 

 

But why wait till researchers unravel these scientific

mysteries? Given their many benefits, I suggest that

you step up your intake of tomato products and other

antioxidant-rich foods. As the North Carolina study

demonstrates, just one small can of V-8 juice per day

will raise lycopene levels in the lungs by 12 percent.

In a two-week study at Ohio State University, blood

lycopene levels were raised 192 percent by a daily

serving of tomato sauce, 122 percent by tomato soup,

and 92 percent by V-8 juice.

 

 

If you eat some tomato products every day and then

supplement that with natural carotenes and vitamin E

you will get the desired effects. While V-8 is rich in

lycopene (it represents 88 percent of all the

carotenoids in this juice), I would favor an organic

version of the same mixture from the natural foods

market. Also, keep in mind that there is more lycopene

in cooked tomato products than in fresh tomatoes, and

the absorption of lycopene by the body is enhanced by

the presence of fat or oil. (This is probably the

health rationale for the Italian custom of dribbling

olive oil over fresh tomatoes.)

 

 

Lycopene supplements (such as Lyc-O-Mato) are another

option. However, with tomato products so readily

available, it seems unnecessary to add another pill to

your daily regimen. As I wrote in Antioxidants Against

Cancer (2000), the best source of antioxidants remains

the high-quality organic foods that you consume in your

daily diet.

 

 

 

 

--Ralph W. Moss, PhD

 

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References

 

 

Arab L et al. Lycopene and the lung. Exp Biol Med

(Maywood) 2002;227:894-9.

 

 

Giovannucci E et al. Intake of carotenoids and retinol

in relation to risk of prostate cancer. J Natl Cancer

Inst 1995;87:1767-76.

 

 

Kucuk O et al. Effects of lycopene supplementation in

patients with localized prostate cancer. Exp Biol Med

(Maywood) 2002;227:881-5.

 

 

Food Ingredients First. Lycopene may help prevent

liver cancer. October 12, 2002.

http://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/newsmaker_article.asp?idNewsMaker=2445 & fSite\

=AO545

 

National Cancer Institute. Prostate cancer prevention:

PDQ. Prevention with lycopene.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancerinfo/pdq/prevention/prostate/HealthProfessional#Sect\

ion4.3.3

 

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IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER

 

 

The news and other items in this newsletter are

intended for informational purposes only. Nothing in

this newsletter is intended to be a substitute for

professional medical advice.

 

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