Tomatoes and Broccoli Fight Prostate Cancer in Tandem Canene-Adams K., et al. Combinations of tomato and broccoli enhance antitumor activity in Dunning R3327-H prostate adenocarcinomas. In a newly published laboratory study funded by an AICR, diets high in both tomatoes and broccoli reduced the size of prostate tumors more effectively than diets high in either food alone. Importantly, in this rat model, consuming tomatoes and broccoli together also proved more protective against prostate cancer than isolated lycopene (the tomato component that has attracted a great deal of public and scientific attention), and was even more effective than a popular prostate cancer drug. In fact, the only thing in this study that reduced tumor size and weight more thoroughly than the tomato-broccoli dietary combo was surgical removal of the prostate. The study, by AICR grantee Dr. John Erdman, Jr. and his colleagues, appears in the January 15, 2007 edition of the journal Cancer Research. The findings may seem like common sense: after all, tomatoes and broccoli (and their various components) have all displayed potent anti-cancer activity in over a hundred different studies, and they seem to act in different ways. Thus, diets high in both foods should contain a larger arsenal of cancer-fighters and afford more comprehensive protection. Until now, however, the general thrust of diet-cancer laboratory science has been to identify and isolate the most potent cancer-fighting substances found in the diet. (That’s one reason lycopene, a strong antioxidant, became such a star.) Only very recently have researchers begun to construct experiments that attempt to address the complexity of the overall human diet, where the interactions of phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals may offer the key to protection. It’s an ongoing search for synergy between (or among) food components, in which the combination of two or more substances offers greater anti-cancer potential than you’d expect to find if you simply added them together. (When 1 plus 1 equals 3, biochemically speaking, you’ve got synergy on your hands.) Dr. Erdman’s new study may not have found tomato-broccoli synergy, but it does strongly suggest that tomatoes and broccoli interact to reinforce each other’s defenses. The rats that ate the dietary combination of tomatoes and broccoli did reduce their prostate tumor weights by a notable 52 percent. That’s more than the rats that ate tomatoes alone (34 percent) and broccoli alone (42 percent). It’s also more than rats that were fed different amounts of lycopene (7 and 18 percent, respectively) and also more than rats that took the prostate cancer drug finasteride (which reduced the size of the rats’ prostates but did not effect the weight or size of prostate tumors.) (Actually, the rats in this study consumed dried tomato and broccoli powder, which is used because it allows the rats to consume everything we do when we eat tomatoes and broccoli except for water.) So there’s nothing magic about the combination of broccoli and tomatoes. There’s every reason to think, however, that the potent anti-cancer activity these two foods show together takes place whenever diets are high in a variety of plant foods. This study is simply among the first to document that fact. In the end, then, it may be Dr. Erdman’s radical new approach that proves just as important to our understanding of the diet-cancer link as these specific results it produces. By structuring an investigation that collectively tracks the anti-cancer effects of several foods and food substances at once, he is conducting basic research that speaks directly to overall dietary patterns. NOTE: Back in 2004, Dr. Erdman presented preliminary findings from this study at the WCRF/AICR Annual Research Conference on Food Nutrition and Cancer. In this press release, he describes why designing studies that can account for dietary interactions may reveal associations that other basic research studies miss. Cancer Research. 2007 Jan; 67(2): 836-43. Ann's NOTE: The Annie Appleseed Project has been suggesting the study of combinations of natural elements, for many years. This is a terrific example of the possibilities. Our source: Journal Watch from American Institute For Cancer Research www.aicr.org Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.