Dr Limpens said more research was needed before doctors could say if a combined lycopene and vitamin E treatment could be given to healthy men to prevent them developing prostate cancer.
But she said her team's findings tied in with other studies suggesting that lycopene and vitamin E could protect against the disease.
"Therefore we would certainly recommend that all men regularly eat lycopene and vitamin E-rich foods - for example, all kinds of processed tomato products, papayas, pink grapefruit and watermelon, wheat germs, whole grains, mangoes, leafy green vegetables, nuts and olive oils," she said.
