Tomatoes and lycopene: Can eating more reduce your cancer risk?

By Hugo Francisco de SouzaReviewed by Susha Cheriyedath, M.Sc.Mar 2 2025

New research suggests that lycopene, found in tomatoes and other red fruits, may help lower cancer risk—especially lung cancer. But is it the key to prevention or just part of a bigger health puzzle?

Review: Dietary intake of tomato and lycopene, blood levels of lycopene, and risk of total and specific cancers in adults: a systematic review and dose–response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Image Credit: M.Hart / Shutterstock

In a recent review and meta-analysis published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the association between tomato (or lycopene, the organic pigment responsible for its red color) consumption, and cancer risk or mortality. They referenced 119 studies for the meta-analysis and 121 studies for the systematic review, sourced from four online scientific repositories.

Study findings suggest that higher lycopene consumption, rather than tomatoes alone, was associated with modest protective effects against cancers, with higher consumption and blood levels of lycopene associated with a 5-11% relative reduction in overall cancer risk. While high tomato consumption was not significantly associated with cancer risk, it was linked to an 11% lower cancer-related mortality risk. Higher blood lycopene levels were further associated with a reduction in cancer-related mortality ranging from 11% to 24%, with the strongest associations observed at higher blood lycopene concentrations. Among specific cancers, lung cancer showed the strongest response to lycopene, with higher blood lycopene levels associated with a 35% lower lung cancer mortality risk. These findings support the benefits of dietary lycopene intake and blood lycopene levels rather than just tomato consumption alone. However, the study authors caution that the observed benefits are based on observational data, which cannot establish causation.

Background

Cancer prevalence and mortality are at an all-time high, with an estimated 20 million new cases and almost 10 million deaths in 2022 alone. Alarmingly, this number is projected to increase to nearly 30 million new cases per year by 2040, highlighting the need for identifying easily accessible preventive measures against these life-threatening conditions.

Recent research suggests an intrinsic association between diet and cancer etiology. Dietary food items are estimated to contribute between 5% and 10% of cancer incidence. Fruits and vegetables are of particular clinical interest given the potentially protective effects of their high fiber, vitamin C, and antioxidant-rich components.

Tomatoes are increasingly being studied for their anti-cancer potential, with evidence associating higher tomato consumption with reduced cancer risk and delayed progression. Unfortunately, previous research has shown conflicting results, and it remains uncertain whether the protective effects observed are due to lycopene alone or other components in tomatoes. Lycopene, a 40-carbon red pigment derived from red fruits and vegetables (watermelons, apricots, etc.), is a likely suspect, but its role in cancer risk and mortality requires validation. Notably, more than 80% of global human lycopene intake is acquired through tomato consumption. Emerging evidence suggests that processed tomato products, such as cooked or pureed tomatoes, may offer greater bioavailability of lycopene than raw tomatoes.

About the Study

The present review comprises two components – a systematic review of available literature on the associations between tomato/lycopene consumption and cancer risk/mortality and a dose-dependent meta-analysis to evaluate the amounts of lycopene required to produce the anti-cancer benefits suggested by previous research efforts. The study complies with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines.

Study data were obtained from four online scientific repositories, namely PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Scopus, from database initiation till July 2023. Studies were screened for review/meta-analysis inclusion based on the following criteria – 1. Study design was prospective, 2. The study evaluated the relationship between tomato/lycopene intake and cancer-related outcomes, 3. Study participants were adults (≥ 18 y), and 4. Study findings were reported as risk ratios (RRs), odds ratios (ORs), or hazard ratios (HRs).

Studies that included combined dietary associations (e.g., tomatoes alongside other food items) were excluded from the analyses to prevent confounding results.

Fixed-effects and random-effects statistical modeling were used to establish and compare cancer benefits in dose-dependent evaluations. Between-study heterogeneity was measured using I² statistics and Cochran’s Q test. Subgroup analyses were performed to explore variations in outcomes by geographic region (US vs. non-US), adjustment for body mass index (BMI), and other potential confounders. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to verify the reliability of the results.

Study Findings

Initial repository queries identified 2,850 potential publications for study inclusion. Of these, 302 were duplicates, and 2,124 failed title and abstract screening, resulting in their exclusion. Of the remaining 154 publications, 121 were included for systematic review, and 119 were included in the meta-analyses.

Nineteen publications (30,009 confirmed cancer cases) were assessed for overall cancer risk. Results showed that tomato consumption did not significantly alter overall cancer risk, regardless of consumption dosage. However, when evaluating cancer mortality, four publications (249,308 cancer cases and 8,863 deaths) revealed that higher tomato consumption was associated with an 11% lower risk of cancer-associated mortality.

In contrast, lycopene consumption revealed significant inverse correlations between both dietary intake and blood levels of lycopene and cancer risk/mortality. Dose-dependent evaluations (2,687,842 participants, 49,617 confirmed cancer cases) revealed a 5-11% relative risk reduction in overall cancer risk with increased lycopene consumption. Cancer mortality evaluations revealed up to a 24% reduced risk between the highest and lowest blood lycopene levels, with dose-response analyses suggesting that 5-7 mg/day was within the beneficial range. However, exceeding 10 mg/day of dietary lycopene intake did not provide additional benefits.

Blood level evaluations continued this positive trend, with an 11-24% reduction in cancer-associated mortality observed at higher blood lycopene levels. Among specific cancers, the strongest association was observed for lung cancer mortality, where higher blood lycopene levels were linked to a 35% lower risk. Breast and prostate cancer also showed some protective associations with blood lycopene levels, though dietary lycopene intake alone did not significantly impact prostate cancer risk.

Conclusions

The present review highlights the potential protective benefits of lycopene consumption on cancer-related outcomes, particularly when assessing blood lycopene levels. Higher lycopene intakes and blood levels significantly reduced cancer risk (by 5-11%) and mortality (by up to 24%), with 5-7 mg/day identified as a beneficial range. However, the study also found that exceeding 10 mg/day of dietary lycopene intake did not provide further reductions in cancer risk.

These findings may usher in a new era of lycopene-centric research aimed at curbing the global cancer pandemic and suggest that tomatoes, particularly processed forms with enhanced lycopene bioavailability, could serve as important dietary components in cancer prevention. However, researchers emphasize that these findings are based on observational data and should not be interpreted as direct evidence that lycopene prevents cancer. Further randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these associations.