A randomised controlled phase II trial of pre-operative celecoxib treatment reveals anti-tumour transcriptional response in primary breast cancer
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is frequently over-expressed in primary breast cancer. In transgenic breast cancer models, over-expression of COX-2 leads to tumour formation while COX-2 inhibition exerts anti-tumour effects in breast cancer cell lines. To further determine the effect of COX-2 inhibition in primary breast cancer, we aimed to identify transcriptional changes in breast cancer tissues of patients treated with the selective COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib. METHODS: In a single-centre double-blind phase II study, thirty-seven breast cancer patients were randomised to receive either pre-operative celecoxib (400 mg) twice daily for two to three weeks (n = 22) or a placebo according to the same schedule (n = 15). Gene expression in fresh-frozen pre-surgical biopsies (before treatment) and surgical excision specimens (after treatment) was profiled by using Affymetrix arrays. Differentially expressed genes and altered pathways were bioinformatically identified. Expression of selected genes was validated by quantitative PCR (qPCR). Immunohistochemical protein expression analyses of the proliferation marker Ki-67, the apoptosis marker cleaved caspase-3 and the neo-angiogenesis marker CD34 served to evaluate biological response. RESULTS: We identified 972 and 586 significantly up- and down-regulated genes, respectively, in celecoxib-treated specimens. Significant expression changes in six out of eight genes could be validated by qPCR. Pathway analyses revealed…
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Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 22 participants or records.
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