A new study suggests that lycopene, a carotenoid found in tomatoes, may help to reduce the risk of bowel cancer in individuals with a family history of the disease.
Researchers at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam recruited 40 men and 31 women, all of whom had a family history of bowel cancer or had personally been treated for colorectal adenoma, NutraIngredients.com reports.
Some participants were given a daily 30mg supplement of lycopene, while others received a placebo for eight weeks.
The researchers then measured the volunteers' levels of proteins that bind to hormones which have previously been linked to an increased risk of bowel cancer.
They found that people who had taken lycopene supplements had increased levels of some of these binding proteins, thereby decreasing the amount of free hormones.
The findings are published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and the researchers concluded that lycopene supplements "may provide a means of ultimately reducing colorectal (bowel) cancer risk, and potentially the risks of other major cancers such as prostate and pre-menopausal breast cancer".
A new study suggests that lycopene, a carotenoid found in tomatoes, may help to reduce the risk of bowel cancer in individuals with a family history of the disease.
