The role of COX-2 in oral cancer development, and chemoprevention/ treatment of oral cancer by selective COX-2 inhibitors.
Oral cancer is challenging for clinicians due to its high mortality and increasing incidence rate. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is extensively expressed in oral cancer and oral premalignant lesions and seems to be enhanced specifically in high-risk oral lesions. Mounting evidence suggests that these inhibitors may represent a promising approach for chemoprevention or treatment of oral cancer. This review reports on Medline and PubMed literature searches of published articles from 1995 to 2003. Our purpose is to provide a comprehensive examination and discussion of the potential role of COX-2 in oral cancer development and the use of COX-2 inhibitors for oral cancer chemoprevention or treatment. The data in the literature strongly indicate that COX-2 is significantly upregulated in oral cancer and premalignant lesions, and we believe that inhibition of COX-2 would suppress development of oral lesions by affecting several pathways of oral carcinogenesis. Therefore, the COX-2 inhibitors should be investigated as a new treatment, particularly new chemoprevention agents, for patients who are at high risk for developing oral cancer.
Wang
Z
Z
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Boston Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, 88 East Newton Street, Boston, MA 02118, USA. zwang@bu.edu
D016588:Anticarcinogenic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D052246:Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000209:etiology; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases / Q000502:physiology*; D012307:Risk Factors
D016588:Anticarcinogenic Agents; D052246:Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; C496540:PTGS2 protein, human; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases