Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 8, Issue 12, 2002

Early experiments performed during 1980s and 1990s using carcinogen-induced rat intestinal tumor models demonstrated the inhibitory effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on intestinal tumorigenesis. Furthermore, epidemiological studies and clinical trials for familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) patients supported the possibility that NSAIDs can be used as chemopreventive agents. The major target Read More

Carcinogenesis results from the long-term accumulation of genetic and epigenetic aberrations at the molecular level, which are under constant selection pressure for growth advantage. Recognizing that cancer is the result of this long-term, multi-step process provides opportunities for molecularly targeted cancer prevention. Ideally, chemopreventive agents should be low in toxicity, morbidity, and cost. Several individu Read More

Comparisons are made between the specific COX-2 inhibitors, celecoxib and rofecoxib, and acetaminophen. The specific COX-2 inhibitors are a significant advance in therapy because their antiinflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic activities are associated with a high degree of gastrointestinal safety. Acetaminophen is often not considered to be a potent inhibitor of COX-2 but it is a potent inhibitor of prostaglandi Read More

It appears that selective Cox-2 inhibitors do not affect the gastro duodenal mucosa whilst having antiinflammatory and analgesic efficacy similar to non-selective NSAIDs. Two broad categories of drugs are Cox-2 selective: coxibs and a number of pre-existing NSAIDs retrospectively found to have selectivity. Cox-2 inhibitors cause less dyspepsia than NSAIDs. They spare gastrointestinal mucosal generation of prostaglandins (PGs) an Read More