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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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You Say 'Tomato,' FDA Says 'Not a Cancer Cure-All'

Study shows no link between lycopene and reduced risk of many types of the disease

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(Newser) – Tomatoes and lycopene, the pigment that gives them their color, do not prevent cancer, the FDA says, contradicting preliminary research. Researchers analyzed 145 studies of lycopene, tomatoes, and cancer risk and found "no credible evidence" that the vegetable wards off lung, colorectal, breast, cervical or uterine cancers, according to a report released yesterday.

Investigators generated "very limited evidence" that tomatoes can reduce the risk of prostate, ovarian, gastric and pancreatic cancer. But studies on tomatoes' preventative success with prostate cancer were measured before the use of early-detecting PSA tests, and one Harvard doctor says "promising" results suggest tomatoes could decrease the risk of late-stage prostate cancer.

A shopper selects tomatoes priced at $4.00 per pound at the open-air farmer's market in Santa Monica, Calif., Wednesday, June 13, 2007. Consumers brushed off rising gasoline prices and slumping home sales in May, pushing retail sales up by the largest amount in 16 months. The Commerce Department reported...
A shopper selects tomatoes priced at $4.00 per pound at the open-air farmer's market in Santa Monica, Calif., Wednesday, June 13, 2007. Consumers brushed off rising gasoline prices and slumping home sales...   (Associated Press)
Tomatoes are displayed at the Essex Street Retail Market on Friday, June 15, 2007 in New York. The Labor Department reported that its closely watched Consumer Price Index registered a 0.7 percent increase in May. Food costs were up 0.3 percent for the month as vegetable prices fell...
Tomatoes are displayed at the Essex Street Retail Market on Friday, June 15, 2007 in New York. The Labor Department reported that its closely watched Consumer Price Index registered a 0.7 percent increase...   (Associated Press)
A participant lies in smashed tomatoes during the third annual tomato fight called
A participant lies in smashed tomatoes during the third annual tomato fight called "tomatina" in Sutamarchan, 71 miles northeast of Bogota, Sunday, June 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)   (Associated Press)
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Press release from the journal
Journal of the National Cancer Institute

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