Dietary lycopene and other carotenoids may protect against prostate cancer, Australian and Chinese researchers report. This is the first time such findings have been reported in an Asian population, investigator Dr. Andy H. Lee told AMN Health.

The findings confirm those of other studies that have identified lycopene as a protective agent against some types of cancers.

Lee, of Curtin University of Technology, Perth, and colleagues conducted a study in southeast China involving 130 patients with prostate cancer, and a comparison group of 274 cancer-free “controls.”

The participants were interviewed about food consumption and a variety of other matters. After factoring in age, total fat and caloric intake, as well as family history, diet appeared to have an influence on the odds of developing prostate cancer.

The risk of prostate cancer declined with increasing consumption of lycopene, alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and other carotenoids the investigators report in the International Journal of Cancer. Consumption of foods including tomatoes, spinach and citrus fruits was also associated with a reduced cancer risk.

The researchers conclude that “carotenoids in vegetables and fruits may be inversely related to prostate carcinogenesis among Chinese men.”

SOURCE: International Journal of Cancer, March 1, 2005.