Strong evidence over more than a decade has associated longterm use of aspirin and/or NSAIDs with a reduced risk for colon cancer. DuBois and his colleagues made the important link several years ago between elevated levels of COX-2 and the development of colon tumors. Now, DuBois is a national co-investigator in a multi-center study to test the ability of COX-2 inhibitors to prevent precancerous polyps in the colon.
In recent years, cancer researchers have turned to the field of angiogenesis as a hopeful avenue to fight cancer by more indirect means than traditional chemo- or radiation therapy. Tumors produce growth factors, such as VEGF, to recruit new blood vessels to bring the oxygen and nutrients the tumors need to grow. These vessels also provide a route for metastasis (spread of cancer cells to other parts of the body).
A number of drugs that interfere with that process are being studied in the laboratory setting as well as in patients. These drugs include an antibody that directly inhibits the action of VEGF. Scientists are also working to better understand angiogenesis in order to develop more effective means of cutting off tumor supply lines.
DuBois' colleagues in the research reported in JCI were Christopher Williams, also of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center; Masahiko Tsujii of Osaka School of Medicine; and Jeff Reese and Sudhansu Dey of the University of Kansas Medical Center.
The work was supported by the T.J. Martell Foundation, which funds the Frances Williams Preston Laboratories at Vanderbilt-Ingram, an National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center.
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Contact: Cynthia Manley
cynthia.manley@mcmail.vanderbilt.edu
615-322-4747
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
23-May-2000