β-Carotene Oxygenase 2 Genotype Modulates the Impact of Dietary Lycopene on Gene Expression during Early TRAMP Prostate Carcinogenesis.

The TRAMP genotype strongly impacts procarcinogenic gene expression prior to emergence of histopathologic disease. Dietary tomato and lycopene modestly temper these processes, while Bco2 genotype has a limited impact at this early stage. These observed patterns provide insight into the complex interactions between a dietary variable, here tomatoes and lycopene, genes impacting nutrient metabolism, and their modulating influences on oncogene-driven prostate carcinogenesis. These findings provide further mechanistic support, consistent with cancer outcomes in rodents experiments and human epidemiologic studies.