A Pill a Day Keeps the Polyps at Bay?

Ivanhoe Newswire
Thursday, August 31, 2006; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The prescription pain reliever Celebrex may have another important role to play in health: Researchers report one 400 milligram pill a day is capable of decreasing the number of pre-cancerous colon polyps in people prone to the condition.

The large study was carried out in 1,550 people in 32 countries who were assigned to take either the Celebrex (celecoxib) or a placebo within three years of having a polyp, or adenoma, removed. Celebrex lowered the risk for another polyp by 36 percent. It lowered the risk of having larger and more dangerous polyps by 50 percent.

The drug works, report the investigators, because Celebrex inhibits a protein called COX-2. Excess amounts of this protein have been associated with the formation of colon polyps.

"There is no doubt that celecoxib is an effective agent in reducing the size and occurrence of adenomas in patients with higher risks for colorectal cancer," reports study author Bernard Levin, M.D., from the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

So, should people run out and get a prescription for Celebrex? Not so fast, report the researchers. COX-2 inhibitors have been linked to cardiovascular risks in previous research. Another large study that looked at the effect of Celebrex on colon polyps linked the drug to increased heart risks. No such effect was seen in the current study, but until those risks can better understood, widespread use of Celebrex to prevent polyps is unwarranted.

The authors write, "If future study of celecoxib for the chemoprevention of colorectal cancer is pursued, the potential addition of this drug to an optimal endoscopic surveillance program must be weighed against the known risk of serious cardiovascular events."

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

SOURCE: The New England Journal of Medicine, published online Aug. 30, 2006