An Aspirin a Day Keeps the Surgeon Away

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have chemopreventive benefits in both animals and humans, including against murine squamous cell carcinomas, human precancerous skin lesions, and human squamous cell carcinomas. Investigators tested the effect of the COX2-specific inhibitor celecoxib (Celebrex) in Ptch^+/- mice and in 60 patients with basal cell nevus syndrome (also known as Gorlin syndrome) — an analysis spanning cage to clinic.

Genetic deletion of the COX2 gene in Ptch^+/- mice exposed to UV radiation reduced the BCC tumor burden by 75%, suggesting that inhibition of COX enzyme activity could ameliorate tumor development. When Ptch^+/- mice were fed celecoxib, the tumor burden was also reduced, albeit at a lower rate (35%). Two ot…