Lycopene May Help in Prostate Surgery Recovery

Lycopene May Help in Prostate Surgery Recovery

NEW DELHI, India--Administering lycopene, inaddition to performing an orchidectomy (castration), may help in the recovery ofpatients with advanced prostate cancer, according to researchers at New DelhisAll India Institute of Medical Science. Their placebo-controlled trial waspublished in the September issue of BJU International (92,4:375, 2003) (www.bjui.org). Between March 2000 and June 2002, 54patients with metastatic prostate cancer underwent orchidectomy; half (27) weresupplemented with 2 mg twice a day of lycopene, beginning on the day oforchidectomy; the other half were not. Measurements of prostate-specific antigen(PSA) were taken before and every three months after orchidectomy. A bone scanand uroflowmetry were also administered. There was a significant reduction inPSA levels in both groups after six months, but more so in the lycopene group.After two years, 21 lycopene patients had a complete PSA response, whereas only11 in the control group had. Bone scans reiterated this fact: eight lycopenepatients had a complete response, versus four in the control group. The lycopenegroup also showed improvement in peak flow rate, with a mean difference of +1.17mL/s. Lycopene diminished the size of both primary and secondary tumors,according to researchers, and may improve survival rates compared withorchidectomy alone.