Celecoxib
Celecoxib, sold under the brand name Celebrex, is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used for pain relief and inflammation. It has also been studied for its effects on…
Celecoxib, sold under the brand name Celebrex, is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used for pain relief and inflammation. It has also been studied for its effects on cancer cells.
What is celecoxib?
Celecoxib is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, sold under the brand name Celebrex, that is used to relieve pain and inflammation. It is typically prescribed for osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and dysmenorrhoea.
How it may act on cancer
Celecoxib inhibits cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), an enzyme involved in several processes of cancer development, including the formation of tumours and metastasis. Cancer cells overproduce COX-2 in order to prevent apoptosis, the process of programmed cell death. In the body, apoptosis plays a role in cancer prevention by clearing away pre-cancerous and damaged cells.
By inhibiting COX-2, celecoxib is thought to induce the self-destruction of cancer cells and to prevent them from growing and spreading, or metastasising, to other parts of the body.
In addition, celecoxib increases the sensitivity of tumour cells to chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Which cancers have been studied
Studies have shown that celecoxib has an effect on many types of cancer, including colorectal, breast, lung, skin, tongue and bladder cancers.
What this means for patients
The anti-cancer effects described here come from research studies rather than from routine cancer care. Celecoxib is an anti-inflammatory medicine that is being studied for these additional effects, not an established cancer treatment.
- PDE5 Inhibitors Enhance Celecoxib Killing in Multiple Tumor Typesncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- The effect of celecoxib on tumor growth in ovarian cancer cells and a genetically engineered mouse model of serous ovarian cancerncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Celecoxib enhances lethality in cancer cells and reverts platinum chemotherapy resistancencbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Autophagy inhibition enhances celecoxib-induced apoptosis in osteosarcomancbi.nlm.nih.gov
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