Synthetic lycopene shown to slow growth of prostate cancer tumors

• An artificial version of the pigment that gives tomatoes their colouring is being tested on prostate cancer patients after promising animal trials.
• Researchers at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, Holland, had found synthetic lycopene slowed the growth of human prostate tumours in mice.
• It is now the most common form of the disease in men, affecting around 21,300 men in Britain annually.
• In their mice research, the Dutch scientists found a low dose of the synthetic lycopene slowed the growth of human prostate tumours implanted in the mice by over 50% by day 42 of the study, compared to mice who had not had the treatment.
• And when the lycopene was combined with vitamin E, it reduced the growth of tumours by up to 73%.
• Dr Limpens said more research was needed before doctors could say if a combined lycopene and vitamin E treatment could be given to healthy men to prevent them developing prostate cancer.
• But she said her team's findings tied in with other studies suggesting that lycopene and vitamin E could protect against the disease.
• "Therefore we would certainly recommend that all men regularly eat lycopene and vitamin E-rich foods - for example, all kinds of processed tomato products, papayas, pink grapefruit and watermelon, wheat germs, whole grains, mangoes, leafy green vegetables, nuts and olive oils," she said.
• "Of course, this needs to be part of an all-round healthy lifestyle and diet with plenty of vegetables and other healthy foods."
• Dr Chris Hiley, head of policy and research at the Prostate Cancer Charity, told BBC News Online: "We welcome the promising results of this study.
• "We're still a way off firm conclusions until lycopene and vitamin E are tested in men with prostate cancer.