Randomised trial · BMC medicine · 2025Conflicts declared

Lycopene intake and prostate cancer risk in high-risk men

López-Solís R, Castro-Barquero S, Donat-Vargas C, et al · Free full text

In 2970 men at high cardiovascular risk, those who ate the most lycopene had a lower rate of prostate cancer than those who ate the least.

This was an observational analysis, not a test of cause and effect.

What they found

Studies in people

Prostate cancer cases

Over an average of 5.8 years, 104 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Highest vs lowest intake

Men in the highest quarter for lycopene intake had a 54% lower risk of prostate cancer than those in the lowest quarter.

Intake above 4.9 mg/day

A lower risk appeared at lycopene intakes above 4.9 mg per day, which the authors say is about 175 g of tomato or 110 g of watermelon. At these intakes, the risk was 64% lower.

Main food sources

Tomatoes and tomato products supplied most of the lycopene in this group, followed by watermelon.

Subgroups and sensitivity

The link held across different subgroups and in sensitivity analyses, such as when early cases or extreme intakes were excluded.

What the authors conclude

“Higher lycopene intake suggested a protective association with a lower incidence of prostate cancer in men at high cardiovascular risk.”

López-Solís R, Castro-Barquero S, Donat-Vargas C, et al, 2025

Also in their conclusions

They conclude that higher lycopene intake was associated with a reduction in prostate cancer risk in this Mediterranean population of older adults at high cardiovascular risk.
They say the findings suggest a potential protective role of lycopene as a dietary component for individuals at high cardiovascular risk.
They call for larger studies in specific population subgroups and further experimental research to understand how lycopene might protect against prostate cancer.

How it was done

Lycopene has been proposed as a protective dietary factor against prostate cancer, but previous studies have been mixed and often relied on a single diet measurement. The authors wanted to test this in a Mediterranean population at high cardiovascular risk, using repeated diet questionnaires.

They followed 2970 men aged 55 to 80 at high cardiovascular risk from the PREDIMED trial in Spain for an average of 5.8 years. Lycopene intake was estimated from food frequency questionnaires completed at the start and each year. Prostate cancer cases were found through medical records and death certificates.

What it can’t tell you

This was an observational analysis, so it can show a link but cannot prove that lycopene itself caused the lower prostate cancer risk.
The men who ate more lycopene may have had other healthier habits that were not fully accounted for.
The findings may not apply to younger or healthier men, since all participants were older adults at high cardiovascular risk.

Who paid

Funding: Funded by Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (AEI/FEDER, UE); Generalitat de Catalunya; MICIN/AEI/FEDER, UE; Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spanish Ministry of Health (from the PubMed record).
Conflicts: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona (reference ID 1244; approval date: July 16, 2002), and by the Institutional Review Boards of the participating centers (Universities of Barcelona, Valencia, Rovira i Virgili, Málaga, and Las Palmas; Municipal Institute for Medical Research; Primary Care Divisions of Barcelona and Sevilla; Institute of Research in Health Sciences at Palma de Mallorca; Hospital Txagorritxu of Vitoria; and University Hospital of Bellvitge). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: RMLR reported personal fees from Cerveceros de España, UNIDECO, Adventia, Wine in Moderation, and Ecoveritas S.A., all outside the submitted work. ER reported grants, personal fees, non-financial support, and other support from the California Walnut Commission during the conduct of the study; and grants, personal fees, non-financial support, and other support from Alexion, all outside the submitted work. RE reported grants from the Fundación Dieta Mediterránea and Fundación Cerveza y Salud, as well as personal fees for lectures from Brewers of Europe, Fundación Cerveza y Salud, Instituto Cervantes (Albuquerque, Milan, Tokyo), Pernod Ricard, and the Wine and Culinary International Forum. He also received non-financial support for the organization of a national nutrition congress and for feeding trials with products from Grand Fountain and Uriach Laboratories (Spain). JSS reported receiving consulting fees or travel expenses from Instituto Danone Spain; non-financial support from Hojiblanca, Patrimonio Comunal Olivarero, the Almond Board of California, Pistachio Growers and Borges S.A.; serving on the board of, and receiving grant support through his institution from, the International Nut and Dried Fruit Foundation; and serving on the Scientific Board of the Danone Institute International (nonpayed member). The remaining authors declared no competing interests.
Authors work at: University of Barcelona, Spain; Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain; University of Navarra, Spain

The paper

Title: Lycopene intake and prostate cancer risk in men at high cardiovascular risk: a prospective cohort study
Type: Randomised controlled trial
Evidence: Studies in people
Summarised from: Full text
Cite: López-Solís R, Castro-Barquero S, Donat-Vargas C, et al (2025). Lycopene intake and prostate cancer risk in men at high cardiovascular risk: a prospective cohort study. BMC medicine. doi:10.1186/s12916-025-04440-0Free full text PubMed 41214650 DOI

Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error