Recent studies have shown overexpression of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX 2) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-lipox) in exocrine pancreatic carcinomas, suggesting a potential role of the arachidonic acid (AA) cascade in the regulation of this cancer type.
These results indicate that Cox-2 is widely expressed in human bladder carcinomas and that the role of Cox-2 inhibition in bladder cancer should be further studied.
COX-2 indices were significantly higher in gastric carcinoma tissues with deep invasion; indices for pT1, pT2, pT3, and pT4 carcinomas were 0.8 +/- 0.3, 2.8 +/- 0.5, 4.3 +/- 1.0, and 8.8 +/- 5.5, respectively (P < 0.05).
The ratio of tumor:paired normal mucosa of mRNA expression of ldlr and of cox-2 was measured in specimens taken during colonoscopy. ldlr and cox-2 transcripts were apparent in 11 of 11 carcinomas.
The level of COX-2 mRNA was found to be elevated in carcinomas, relative to histologically normal pancreas from a healthy individual, as assessed by reverse transcription-PCR.
These results suggest that larger carcinomas produce more COX-2 to support their own growth and that COX-2 inhibitors may be effective agents of carcinoma growth suppression.