Low‐Lycopene Tomato Powder Alters Prostate Biology in TRAMP Mice

The Transgenic Adenocarcinoma of the Mouse Prostate (TRAMP) model develops and progresses through all stages of carcinogenesis. We, (Zuniga et al., Cancer Prev. Res. 2013) previously demonstrated a high lycopene tomato powder (TP) was effective in reducing carcinogenesis in the TRAMP model. The objective of the current study was to determine if a low‐lycopene TP (20 fold less than previously tested) impacted carcinogenesis and androgen biology at 3 time points. 8‐week‐old male C57BL/6 X FVB TRAMP mice were randomized to consume either an AIN‐93G + 10% TP diet (N=90) or the AIN‐93G control diet (N=88) and assigned to one of three sacrifice ages: 12 (N=59), 16 (N=60), or 20 (N=59) weeks. There was no difference between diets in overall cancer incidence at each time point. TP significantly increased serum testosterone (p=0.01) and expression of prostatic androgen receptor in high‐grade PIN lesions (p=0.01) at 20 weeks of age compared to the control, suggesting an interaction between tomato components and androgen status in pre‐neoplastic prostate tissue. The results suggest that lycopene content of TP is a crucial modulator of PCa in TRAMP mice. We have shown that a low‐lycopene TP is ineffective in reducing carcinogenesis in the TRAMP model. Support was provided by USDA Hatch grant #ILLU‐971‐348 and UIUC Margin of Excellence Research award.