Novel COX-2 combination treatment may reduce colon c...( 70 percent. Subsequent animal studie...)

Subsequent animal studies compared effects of 20 percent of the fat types in a typical American diet with those of 20 percent levels of fish oil (high in omega 3 fatty acids), and found that the animals treated with fish oil developed 70 to 80 percent fewer tumors. It is noteworthy that even with a brief exposure to a fish oil diet, there was a significant suppression of precursor lesions of colon cancer. Similarly, COX-2 inhibitors have demonstrated reduction of colon cancer tumors by up to 30 percent in human clinical trials. COX-2 -- an inducible enzyme generating prostaglandins (PG) -- may be implicated in several biological events throughout the process of tumor development and is therefore a potential target for preventing and possibly treating a number of cancers.

Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of death in both men and women. According the American Cancer Society, in 2003 more than 72,000 men and 74,000 women will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and more than 28,000 men and 28,000 women will die from the disease. Incidence rates have recently begun to stabilize, and death rates have actually declined for both and women over the past 15 years.

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Contact: Aimee Frank
202-955-6222
American Association for Cancer Research
8-Apr-2003