Tomato sauce supplementation reduces DNA damage in men with prostate cancer

Epidemiological studies indicate that the risk of prostate cancer is lower in men reporting higher consumption of tomato products. Human prostate tissues are vulnerable to oxidative DNA damage, which may lead to cancer. Tomato products are a rich source of the potent antioxidant lycopene, which is under investigation for the chemoprevention of prostate cancer. DNA oxidation products such as 8-OHdG/dG are considered a biomarker for assessment of cancer risk in population studies.; Thirty-two patients with localized prostate adenocarcinoma (clinical stage T1 or T2) were recruited to consume tomato sauce based pasta dishes for 3 weeks (equivalent to 30 mg lycopene per day) before their scheduled radical prostatectomy. Serum and prostate lycopene concentrations, serum PSA, and leukocyte DNA 8-OHdG/dG of patients, both at baseline and the end of the intervention, were assessed. Resected prostate tissue DNA 8-OHdG/dG from the study participants and 7 randomly selected prostate tissues from a control group were also evaluated.; Serum and prostate lycopene concentrations increased 1.97 and 2.92 fold (p < 0.001), respectively, after the intervention. Patients had a 17.5% lower (p = 0.002) mean serum PSA concentration and 21.3% lower (p = 0.005) mean leukocyte 8-OHdG/dG after consumption of the tomato sauce. Study participants had a 28.3% lower (p = 0.03) prostate 8-OHdG/dG than the control patients. There was a positive correlation (r = 0.514, p = 0.005) between the leukocyte and prostate DNA 8-OHdG/dG. These data, taken as a whole, indicate a possible role of tomato sauce or lycopene in the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer.