Prostate cancer: The team led by Edward Giovannucci has discovered that the intake of Lycopene supplements is associated with a reduced risk of developing lethal Prostate Cancer. The study results published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute indicates that with the coming of prostate-specific antigen screening, an early-stage, asymptomatic, and indolent Prostate Cancer diagnosis is now possible. But the easy detection of lethal Prostate Cancer is a work in progress, and focusing on Lycopene studies might provide a result for the same.

The research concluded that higher consumption of dietary Lycopene is inversely linked with any type of prostate cancer, but mostly with lethal Prostate Cancer. Lycopene can also target tumors in the prostate with less angiogenic potential.4

Colorectal cancer: Epidemiologic studies have long since advocated that high tomato consumption can significantly bring down the risk factor related to Colorectal Cancer. Several researchers suspected this was owing to the presence of the carotenoid pigment Lycopene in tomatoes. They conducted a study to assess the relationship between colorectal adenomas and plasma Lycopene concentrations by observing 73 patients with adenomas, 63 healthy individuals, and 29 patients with hyperplastic polyps. The findings published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition point out that patients diagnosed with Colorectal Cancer had less plasma Lycopene concentration when compared to healthy participants. Thus, the researchers concluded that Lycopene contributes to the protective property of tomatoes against the risk of contracting colorectal adenomas.

Lung cancer: Recent epidemiological studies prove that Lycopene has a chemopreventive effect against several cancers that affect the epithelial cells, such as Lung Cancer. In an experiment, scientists found that Lycopene can reduce the incidence rate of lung adenocarcinomas in mice when subjected to chemical carcinogens. The study further investigated to what extent can Lycopene suppress the growth of cells and its multiplication, and inhibit the neoplastic transformation of mouse and human cells. However, the research couldn’t find if cooked tomatoes can affect smoke-induced lung carcinogenesis.

Ovarian cancer: A study performed to investigate the effects of Lycopene on SKOV3 Ovarian Cancer cells in vitro found that the carotenoid could significantly reduce proliferation or replication of the cells and bring about apoptosis, i.e., programmed cell death.

Breast cancer: To record the influence of Lycopene on breast cancer, Howard D. Sesso and Julie E. Buring, with their team, observed 39,876 healthy women over 9.9 years. Medical history and relevant data were collected, and during the 9.9 years of follow-up, the researchers found 1,076 Breast Cancer cases. When cross-referencing results, they derived the following conclusion.

Since those who included lycopene-containing fruits and vegetables in their diet showed reduced susceptibility to breast cancer, and those who didn’t include Lycopene in their meals developed Breast Cancer symptoms, Lycopene has properties to inhibit human mammary cells from growing and multiplying. Also, Lycopene has displayed the possibility of being able to subdue insulin-like growth factor-I, which has been associated with a high risk of premenopausal Breast Cancer.