Lycopene and Vitamin E Combination Inhibits Prostate Tumour Growth

The combined treatment with lycopene and vitamin E, at 5 mg/kg BW each, is most effective; growth of prostate tumors was suppressed by 73 percent and survival time was increased by 40 percent.

The combination of lycopene and vitamin E suppresses tumour growth in mice by 73 percent and increases survival time by 40 percent. Lycopene alone tends to inhibit tumour growth and to prolong survival time as well, but less effectively (53 percent and 19 percent, respectively). A phase-II clinical trial with prostate cancer patients is ongoing to evaluate the health benefits of lycopene and vitamin E in humans.

A BASF study in collaboration with leading researchers in the field of urology at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, The Netherlands showed that combined treatment with lycopene and vitamin E, at 5 mg/kg BW each, is most effective; growth of prostate tumors was suppressed by 73 percent and survival time was increased by 40 percent. There was a trend for 53 percent slower tumour growth and 19 percent increased survival time in the group receiving 5 mg/kg BW lycopene. The other treatments (vitamin E alone or lycopene at 50 mg/kg BW) did not have a significant effect on tumor growth.

Prostate cancer is a major type of malignancy in men. While established risk factors for the disease exist including older age, family history of the disease, and race, there is ongoing search for dietary factors and micronutrients, which help lower the risk of contracting the disease. Epidemiologic studies have repeatedly associated a high intake of lycopene, the major tomato-carotenoid, and vitamin E with reduced prostate cancer risk and these two micronutrients are now among the most promising dietary components with regard to prostate cancer prevention.

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