Arthritis Drug Shows Promising Effects for Mesothelioma Victims

Interscience.Wiley.com, May 19, 2004

Ancona, Italy - Researchers in Italy have discovered that studies involving Pfizer Inc.'s arthritis drug Celebrex have shown promising results in combating the effects of cancerous cell growth related to the asbestos-induced disease mesothelioma.

Dr. Alfonso Catalano and other researchers at the University of Marche reported the results of their study, Preclinical Evaluation of the Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory agent Celecoxib on Malignant Mesothelioma Chemo-prevention, in the April issue of the International Journal of Cancer. The researchers found that the COX-2 inhibitor Celebrex, also known as celecoxib, stopped mesothelioma cells from growing and increased the survival rate of mice implanted with the cancerous disease.

"This data demonstrates that celecoxib may have antitumor properties in malignant mesothelioma cells from growing in a laboratory dish and inhibited the proliferation of malignant mesothelioma cells in mice. In mice implanted with mesothelioma, treatment with celecoxib greatly extended the average survival rate from 45 days to 62 days, and three of the infected mice lived longer than 120 days, the researchers reported.

"These results provide the first evidence that celecoxib is effective for the prevention and regression of malignant mesothelioma cells in experimental models . . . and strongly support ongoing clinical trials in malignant mesothelioma patients," the researchers said.

The full study is available on the Internet at http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/106600908/ABSTRACT