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Review article: cyclooxygenase – a target for colon cancer prevention
Author(s) -
Dubois R. N.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
alimentary pharmacology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.308
H-Index - 177
eISSN - 1365-2036
pISSN - 0269-2813
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2036.2000.014s1064.x
Subject(s) - cyclooxygenase , medicine , aspirin , colorectal cancer , mouse model of colorectal and intestinal cancer , nonsteroidal , cancer , pharmacology , enzyme , biology , biochemistry
Summary Use of nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, which are known to inhibit cyclooxygenase activity, reduces the relative risk of colorectal cancer in humans by 40–50%. Animal and human studies have shown a 50–80% reduction in tumour multiplicity following treatment with a variety of nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs. Two isoforms of cyclooxygenase have been described, cyclooxygenase‐1 (COX‐1) and cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2). In 85% of colorectal adenocarcinomas taken from humans, COX‐2 levels are 2–50‐fold higher than levels in adjacent normal intestinal mucosa, while COX‐1 levels are unchanged. These observations raise the question: Does COX‐1 or COX‐2 provide a useful target for prevention or treatment of colorectal cancer?