Tomato and Broccoli combo packs greatest punch

January 17, 2007

Combinations of Tomato and Broccoli Enhance Antitumor Activity in

Dunning R3327-H Prostate Adenocarcinomas

Kirstie Canene- 1, L. Lindshield , Shihua Wang ,

H. Jeffery , K. Clinton , W. Erdman Jr.*

1 1Division of Nutritional Sciences and Department of Food Science and

Human Nutrition, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois and

2Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine,

Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, The Ohio State

University, Columbus, Ohio

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jwerdman@....

Abstract

The consumption of diets containing 5 to 10 servings of fruits and

vegetables daily is the foundation of public health recommendations

for cancer prevention, yet this concept has not been tested in

experimental models of prostate cancer. We evaluated combinations of

tomato and broccoli in the Dunning R3327-H prostate adenocarcinoma

model. Male Copenhagen rats (n = 206) were fed diets containing 10%

tomato, 10% broccoli, 5% tomato plus 5% broccoli (5:5 combination),

10% tomato plus 10% broccoli (10:10 combination) powders, or lycopene

(23 or 224 nmol/g diet) for ~22 weeks starting 1 month prior to

receiving s.c. tumor implants. We compared the effects of diet to

surgical castration (2 weeks before termination) or finasteride (5

mg/kg body weight orally, 6 d/wk). Castration reduced prostate

weights, tumor areas, and tumor weight (62%, P < 0.001), whereas

finasteride reduced prostate weights (P < 0.0001), but had no effect

on tumor area or weight. Lycopene at 23 or 224 nmol/g of the diet

insignificantly reduced tumor weights by 7% or 18%, respectively,

whereas tomato reduced tumor weight by 34% (P < 0.05). Broccoli

decreased tumor weights by 42% (P < 0.01) whereas the 10:10

combination caused a 52% decrease (P < 0.001). Tumor growth reductions

were associated with reduced proliferation and increased apoptosis, as

quantified by proliferating cell nuclear antigen immunohistochemistry

and the ApopTag assay. The combination of tomato and broccoli was more

effective at slowing tumor growth than either tomato or broccoli alone

and supports the public health recommendations to increase the intake

of a variety of plant components. [Cancer Res 2007;67(2):836-43]

Key Words: Tomato, Lycopene, Broccoli, Prostate Cancer, finasteride

Recommended Posts