A nutrient in cooked tomatoes can slow the growth and even kill prostate cancer cells, a study done by an Indian-origin researcher-led team has claimed.
Dr Mridula Chopra and colleagues at the University of Portsmouth, through laboratory studies tested the effect of the nutrient lycopene on the simple mechanism through which cancer cells hijack a body's healthy blood supply to grow and spread.
The research, which is published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that lycopene, which is what gives tomatoes their red colour, intercepts cancer's ability to make the connections it needs to attach to a healthy blood supply.
The researchers, from the university's School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, are now calling for tests to check if the same reaction occurs in the human body, the Daily Telegraph reported.
"This simple chemical reaction was shown to occur at lycopene concentrations that can easily be achieved by eating processed tomatoes," Chopra, Director of the research said.
Lycopene is present in all red fruits and vegetables, but its concentrations are highest in tomatoes and it becomes more readily available and biologically active when it comes from processed tomatoes with a small amount of cooking oil added.
"I stress that our tests were done in test tubes in a laboratory and more testing needs to be carried out to confirm our findings, but the laboratory evidence we have found is clear, it is possible to intercept the simple mechanism some cancer cells use to grow at concentrations that can be achieved by eating sufficient cooked tomatoes," Chopra said.
Cancer cells can remain dormant for years until their growth is triggered through the secretion of chemicals which initiate the process of linking cancer cells with endothelial cells which act as healthy gatekeeper cells lining blood vessels.
This allows the cancer cells to reach out and attach to the blood supply. In the laboratory experiments, lycopene was shown to disrupt this linking process, without which cancer cells cannot grow.
The researchers explained that all cancer cells use a similar mechanism (angiogenesis) to "feed" upon a healthy blood supply. They said there was added importance of this mechanism for prostate cancer because lycopene tends to accumulate in prostate tissues.
