FDA Hedges on Tomato Benefits

Ivanhoe Newswire
Wednesday, July 11, 2007; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports there is little evidence to show eating tomatoes will ward off cancer, but the agency is stopping short of saying the fruit -- and its key ingredient, lycopene -- play no role in cancer prevention.

The opinion comes from a review of previous studies conducted on tomatoes and cancer. Researchers found no preventive effects for lung, colorectal, breast, cervical or endometrial cancers. However, very limited evidence did exist for prostate, ovarian, gastric and pancreatic cancers.

FDA officials used this review to develop statements aimed at informing the public about the role of tomatoes in general, and lycopene in particular, in preventing cancer. For example, the agency reports, while there is some evidence to suggest eating one half to one cup of tomatoes a week could reduce the risk of prostate cancer, the evidence is scanty at best.

So, are tomatoes a cancer preventative or not? Editorials published along with the FDA report note many factors complicated the agency's review of tomatoes and cancer, like the limited number of studies available and, in the case of prostate cancer, the widespread use of PSA screening.

The end result: the tomato-cancer link probably deserves more study, particularly in the case of prostate cancer.

Writes Harvard researcher Edward Giovannucci, M.D., Sc.D., "Given the complexities of studying the relationship between tomato or lycopene intake and prostate cancer risk, both in terms of the exposures and the outcome, one should not be too surprised that no firm conclusion of benefit would be made in the FDA review. Although it may be premature to espouse increased consumption of tomato sauce or lycopene for prostate cancer prevention, this area of research remains promising."

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SOURCE: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, published online July 10, 2007