Molecular Effects of Short-Term Celecoxib Treatment on Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2010-10-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
The purpose of this study is to better understand how to use celecoxib, a popular drug widely
used for arthritis, for head and neck cancer patients. Some doctors believe that celecoxib
may have helpful effects when used for head and neck cancer. Celecoxib has been shown to
prevent some cancers in animals. It has also been used to make standard chemotherapy and
radiation work better in both animals and humans. However, all of the previous studies
focused on tumors outside the head and neck region. To better understand how to use celecoxib
for head and neck cancer patients, doctors at MSKCC are studying the effects of the drug on
certain chemicals in the body that are thought to be important for cancer treatment.
This study aims to measure how celecoxib affects those chemicals, which can be found in the
tumor, blood, and urine of patients with head and neck cancer. Although celecoxib is already
used to treat arthritis, this study will be the first to test the drug in head and neck
cancer patients.