tomato juice modestly inhibits bladder cancer

Doug Skrecky (oberon@vcn.bc.ca)
Thu, 15 Oct 1998 20:10:32 -0700 (PDT)

Authors
Okajima E. Tsutsumi M. Ozono S. Akai H. Denda A. Nishino H. Oshima S. Sakamoto H. Konishi Y.
Institution
Department of Oncological Pathology, Cancer Center, Nara Medical University, Kashihara.
Title
Inhibitory effect of tomato juice on rat urinary bladder carcinogenesis after N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine initiation.
Source
Japanese Journal of Cancer Research. 89(1):22-6, 1998 Jan. Abstract
The effects of tomato juice on urinary bladder carcinogenesis were studied in male Fischer 344 rats initiated with N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine (BBN) in rats. The animals (6 weeks old) were given 0.05% BBN in their drinking water for 8 weeks, followed by diluted tomato juice for 12 weeks, and killed at 20 weeks after the beginning of the experiment. Lycopene concentrations in the livers of rats given tomato juice were elevated. Histopathological analysis of urinary bladder lesions revealed the numbers, but not incidences, of urinary bladder transitional cell carcinomas (TCCs) to be decreased in the group given tomato juice. No influence on the incidence of simple and nodullopapillary hyperplasias, invasion or differentiation of TCC was noted. These results indicate that tomato juice, presumably the contained lycopene and other anti-oxidants in combination, exerts an inhibitory effect on the development of TCCs in the rat urinary bladder.