Tomato Lycopene and Lung Cancer Prevention: From Experimental to Human Studies.

Increasing evidence suggests that tomato lycopene may be preventive against\r\nthe formation and the development of lung cancer. Experimental studies demonstrated that\r\nlycopene may inhibit the growth of several cultured lung cancer cells and prevent lung\r\ntumorigenesis in animal models. Various mechanisms have been proposed to explain the\r\ngrowth-inhibitory effects of lycopene on lung cancer, including cell cycle arrest and/or\r\napoptosis induction via a modulation of redox status, a regulation of growth factor\r\nsignalling, changes in cell growth-related enzymes, an enhancement of gap junction communication and a prevention of smoke-induced inflammation. In addition, lycopene\r\nalso inhibited cell invasion, angiogenesis, and metastasis. Several lycopene metabolites\r\n have been identified, raising the question as to whether the preventive effects of lycopene\r\n on cancer risk is, at least in part, due to its metabolites. This article reviews data on the\r\ncancer preventive activities of lycopene, possible mechanisms involved, and the\r\nrelationship between lycopene consumption and human cancer risk