Prostate Cancer

The medical and scientific communities have made tremendous advances in prostate cancer prevention in the last few decades as more and more was learned about its causes and risk factors.

Some risk factors - such as race, family history or age - can't be changed. But others like diet and weight can certainly be controlled.

A number of recent studies suggest that men who wanting to reduce their risk should eat fewer red meats and high-fat dairy products, and also eat five or more servings of vegetables and fruits each day. Regular exercise, of course, can help maintain a healthy weight.

Several large studies aimed at discovering agents that might prevent prostate cancer are in progress. Most notable are studies of vitamin E with selenium, and others evaluating the possibility that a class of drugs known as 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors (Proscar or Avodart) might prevent an occurrence.

Lycopene has shown promise for its role prevention. Lycopene is the red pigment in tomatoes, guava, watermelon, and red grapefruit. It is a powerful antioxidant that helps protect the body from the formation of free radicals. Free radicals cause damage to cells, which in turn can impair the immune system, leading to infections, cancer, or degenerative diseases such as heart disease.

A Harvard Medical School study found that four foods were associated with a low risk of developing prostate cancer include tomato sauce (on spaghetti), pizza with tomato sauce, tomatoes and strawberries.

Men who ate ten or more servings of these foods weekly were 45% less likely to develop prostate cancer. Those who ate four to seven servings of the foods were 20% less likely.

It's important to note that a different study found that the absorption of lycopene can be affected by what form the tomato is in and what is cooked with the tomato. Scientists believe that more lycopene is released when the tomato is crushed and cooked to be a sauce or paste. Fresh tomato and tomato juice do not raise the blood lycopene level as high as tomato sauce with oil cooked in the sauce--such as spaghetti or pizza sauce.

More lycopene studies are in progress and their reports will be known in the coming years.