TO CELEBREX OR NOT TO CELEBREX

spongebob
spongebob Member Posts: 2,565 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
That is a question...

I saw two article banners today, one from Forbes Magazine that says Celebrex does NOT have a role in preventing colon cancer. The other one from UPI said that it does. Confused? I was, too.

As many of you may know, the COX-2 inhibitor pain reliever Celebrex (yep, related to Vioxx although not proven to have the same heart-related side-effects) has been touted as having a mystical power to inhibit colon cancer recurrence, especially with Lynch Syndrome/HNPCC patients. We had some discussion about this a couple of weeks ago.

Anyway, I got this first Google Alert from Forbes the headline of which leads the reader to believe that that whole inhibiting colon cancer thing is a bunch of hogwash. I couldn't actually open the article due to technical difficulties to see exactly what it said, but the headline certainly got my attention.

Not more than an hour later I got another Google Alert, this time it was UPI quoting two studies in the New England Journal of Medicine that said that Celebrex DOES inhibit colon cancer recurrence.

HUH?

Then I read - which, considering there weren't any peechurs wuz a beeg deel fer me. What the study said is this:

[due to the possibility of heart-related side effects] Celebrex has no role in preventing cancer in those who don't face high risk.

So there you have it. It DOES help, BUT, the benefits must be weighed against the COX-2 track record of negative side-effects. Again, my doc has me on Clinoril. Same basic thing, arthritis meds that inhibit recurrence of CRC - although do it better according to the doc, BUT are not COX-2 inhibiters and have not been shown to have heart-related effects.

Just thought you'd be interested.

Cheers

- SpongeBob

Comments

  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #2
    MY dad is the bestest, most smartest man in the WHORLD!!!

    I am already taking Tamoxifen for the bc dust bunnies, and doing the 8.5 minutes, 3 times a day sunlight exposure for vitamin D....sadly, the adriamycin chemo did some damage to my heart...I think I fall into the 'too big a risk' category...sigh...
    BUT thanks for the info....AND WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?????
    Messing with Antonio again?????? rofl

    Hugs, your loving daughter
  • spongebob
    spongebob Member Posts: 2,565 Member
    #3
    KathiM said:

    MY dad is the bestest, most smartest man in the WHORLD!!!

    I am already taking Tamoxifen for the bc dust bunnies, and doing the 8.5 minutes, 3 times a day sunlight exposure for vitamin D....sadly, the adriamycin chemo did some damage to my heart...I think I fall into the 'too big a risk' category...sigh...
    BUT thanks for the info....AND WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?????
    Messing with Antonio again?????? rofl

    Hugs, your loving daughter

    A-HA! So you saw that exculpatory post I made!

    You gonna get me in trouble, you know that!?

    WRT your heart, you might ask about the Clinoril - it isn't a COX-2 inhibitor. According to my GI doc, it actually affords more and better protection - to include the liver - than Celebrex does.

    See you soon!

    - SB/Dad
  • Patrusha
    Patrusha Member Posts: 487
    #4
    That is really interesting, Bob. I'm filing it in the back of my brain to talk to my oncs about... thanks...
  • suezav
    suezav Member Posts: 42
    #5
    last month, my daughter (age 22 at dx 4/05 stage 3c rectal) went to see a highly regarded doc in nyc who specializes in complementary and alternative medicine. he's also a licensed acupunturist and master herbalist. along with a regimen of vitamins, mushrooms and a one time detox program he gave her scripts for celebrex and zocor (a statin drug). i was really suprised that he prescribed these 2 drugs. i guess i was so busy trying to learn as much as i could about her disease and treatment, i hadn't had a chance to educate myself on what she could do post treatment to decrease the risk of recurrence. when we ran it by her onc, she was concerned about the increased risk of thrombosis with the celebrex. (even at such a young age?) she did say that statins have been shown in studies to lower the risk of recurrence. she is very by the book, is a good oncologist but doesn't think "out of box" enough. my daughter sees her this coming wednesday and she will ask her why she didn't prescribe the statin drug if it shows some promise. (??!!)

    so anyway, we are still sitting here with these 2 scripts trying to decide the best thing to do for my daughter. there seems to be lots of possible side effects from both. on the other hand, this doctor came very highly recommended and really believes in the importance of these drugs. does anyone else out there take a statin drug to prevent recurrence? yeeck....i agree, it's all sooo confusing!! susan
  • shmurciakova
    shmurciakova Member Posts: 906 Member
    #6
    I just spoke to my oncologist the other day. I am on Celebrex still, only 100mg/day, not only to prevent polyps, but on the theory that the Cox-2 enzyme is responsible for angiogenesis (recurrences). Prior to the whole uproar about Vioxx, etc. I actually had my tumor tissue sent out to the University of Oregon and it tested positive for Cox-2 overexpression.
    So, unfortunately all of the studies were halted after the Vioxx hubbub....However, my doc feels I should continue taking it since it is causing no side effects and I am "strong like bull"....
    Anyway, I will certainly ask about the Clinoril - I see the doc again in October and I can also e-mail my docs at MD Anderson about it.....
    There are other natural compounds that do the same thing so I would recommend eating grapes, drinking red wine (not too much, of course), tumeric, etc.
    BTW, Celebrex also does a great job preventing Xeloda hand/foot syndrome.
    Take it easy all!
    Susan.

    P.S. I would trust NE Journal over Forbes, personally....
  • spongebob
    spongebob Member Posts: 2,565 Member
    #7
    shmurciakova said:

    I just spoke to my oncologist the other day. I am on Celebrex still, only 100mg/day, not only to prevent polyps, but on the theory that the Cox-2 enzyme is responsible for angiogenesis (recurrences). Prior to the whole uproar about Vioxx, etc. I actually had my tumor tissue sent out to the University of Oregon and it tested positive for Cox-2 overexpression.
    So, unfortunately all of the studies were halted after the Vioxx hubbub....However, my doc feels I should continue taking it since it is causing no side effects and I am "strong like bull"....
    Anyway, I will certainly ask about the Clinoril - I see the doc again in October and I can also e-mail my docs at MD Anderson about it.....
    There are other natural compounds that do the same thing so I would recommend eating grapes, drinking red wine (not too much, of course), tumeric, etc.
    BTW, Celebrex also does a great job preventing Xeloda hand/foot syndrome.
    Take it easy all!
    Susan.

    P.S. I would trust NE Journal over Forbes, personally....

    NEJM over Forbes? YEAH! ANY day!! I would be willing to bet that Forbes had the same quote "No Role" and was just sensationalizing it in their banner to get people to read. Or maybe they have some business animosity with Merk and wanted to give the chain a little yank...

    Off to drink some wine...!
  • kerry
    kerry Member Posts: 1,313 Member
    #8
    shmurciakova said:

    I just spoke to my oncologist the other day. I am on Celebrex still, only 100mg/day, not only to prevent polyps, but on the theory that the Cox-2 enzyme is responsible for angiogenesis (recurrences). Prior to the whole uproar about Vioxx, etc. I actually had my tumor tissue sent out to the University of Oregon and it tested positive for Cox-2 overexpression.
    So, unfortunately all of the studies were halted after the Vioxx hubbub....However, my doc feels I should continue taking it since it is causing no side effects and I am "strong like bull"....
    Anyway, I will certainly ask about the Clinoril - I see the doc again in October and I can also e-mail my docs at MD Anderson about it.....
    There are other natural compounds that do the same thing so I would recommend eating grapes, drinking red wine (not too much, of course), tumeric, etc.
    BTW, Celebrex also does a great job preventing Xeloda hand/foot syndrome.
    Take it easy all!
    Susan.

    P.S. I would trust NE Journal over Forbes, personally....

    Susan (and Bob),

    I was on Xeloda AND Celebrex for over a year. I loved the Celebrex - felt so good on it - all the aches and pains were gone. Although it did NOTHING to inhibit my hand/foot syndrom with the Xeloda. I still lost my toenails and most of the skin on my poor ole tooties. (that means feet, Bob)

    I'm off Celebrex and Xeloda now and taking some extra strong stuff like folfiri + Avastin.

    Just thought I would add my 2cents worth.

    Good report though....

    Kerry
  • spongebob
    spongebob Member Posts: 2,565 Member
    #9
    kerry said:

    Susan (and Bob),

    I was on Xeloda AND Celebrex for over a year. I loved the Celebrex - felt so good on it - all the aches and pains were gone. Although it did NOTHING to inhibit my hand/foot syndrom with the Xeloda. I still lost my toenails and most of the skin on my poor ole tooties. (that means feet, Bob)

    I'm off Celebrex and Xeloda now and taking some extra strong stuff like folfiri + Avastin.

    Just thought I would add my 2cents worth.

    Good report though....

    Kerry

    Ya know, there's just so much I want to write here... but I just can't. I'd be banned for life.
  • ron50
    ron50 Member Posts: 1,723 Member
    #10
    spongebob said:

    Ya know, there's just so much I want to write here... but I just can't. I'd be banned for life.

    Hi SB,
    I am starting to add drug companies to my list of politicians and used car salesmen. Chemo seems to have done a job on my liver ,untreated I run a cholesterol reading of 11.5 with acceptable at 3.5 (Australian scale). They put me on 80mg dose of Pravachol and 10 mg of Ezetrol(the new wonder drug) My latest blood tests found that my muscles are breaking down. So now I can't take anything. Might design a new form for doctors "dear patient which of the following conditions would you prefer to succumb to ect ect ect" Yuk sarcasm dripping all over the keyboard,Ron.
  • spongebob
    spongebob Member Posts: 2,565 Member
    #11
    ron50 said:

    Hi SB,
    I am starting to add drug companies to my list of politicians and used car salesmen. Chemo seems to have done a job on my liver ,untreated I run a cholesterol reading of 11.5 with acceptable at 3.5 (Australian scale). They put me on 80mg dose of Pravachol and 10 mg of Ezetrol(the new wonder drug) My latest blood tests found that my muscles are breaking down. So now I can't take anything. Might design a new form for doctors "dear patient which of the following conditions would you prefer to succumb to ect ect ect" Yuk sarcasm dripping all over the keyboard,Ron.

    Ron -

    When I was on chemo my triglycerides were thru the roof. My onc told me it was from the 5-FU and that it would go down once I was off chemo. Not sure ifthat's the same thng you're experiencing, but might be worth asking about if it sounds similar.

    Hope you're doing OK otherwise and hope you get that glitch cleared up soon, mate!

    - Bob
  • shmurciakova
    shmurciakova Member Posts: 906 Member
    #12
    Kerry,
    As for the hand/foot syndrome. I just heard that Celebrex helped. Too bad to hear it doesn't. I was on Xeloda before I got on Celebrex and I thought that if I had been on Celebrex WHILE I was on Xeloda maybe I would not have had the gross toe nails, etc. etc. Too bad......
    Ron,
    Two words......FISH OIL!
    My cholesterol went way down from like 200 to 160. Also if you eat less/as little as possible sugar your triglycerides should go down as well. Fish oil is good for you anyway, so it's worth a try.
    Cheers,
    Susan.

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