HOW DOES LYCOPENE REDUCE PROSTATE CANCER RISK?
University of Illinois at Chicago researchers will explore the potential of lycopene, a substance found in tomato sauce, to prevent prostate cancer with a $300,000 grant from the National Foundation for Cancer Research. The grant was awarded to Phyllis Bowen, UIC professor of human nutrition and dietetics. “We are pleased to fund research that may lead to advances in finding a treatment and a cure for prostate cancer,” said Franklin Salisbury Jr., president of the foundation. “It is our hope that with funding from the foundation, Professor Bowen will be able to conduct the necessary research that could lead to breakthroughs in the field of cancer research.” Bowen and her research team have been working closely with Richard Van Breemen, UIC professor of medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy to determine the mechanism by which lycopene reduces prostate cancer risk. Van Breemen’s team has recruited men with prostate cancer or increased levels of prostate-specific antigen to take placebo o
