Celebrex (celecoxib) does not seem to show any benefit in patients receiving second line chemotherapy for lung cancer. Second line chemotherapy refers to treatment given when the initial treatment does not work or stops working.
According to the results of a phase II clinical trial published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the effectiveness of Celebrex is not seen when added to chemotherapy for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Researches conducted the trial among 133 patients with stage IIIB or Stage IV NSCLC. Aside from pain, the addition of Celebrex did not improve patient symptoms or outcomes. One year survival was 24 percent among patients treated with Celebrex and chemotherapy and 36 percent among patients treated with chemotherapy alone.
Celebrex is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent that inhibits the COX-2 enzyme, which plays a role in inflammation. There has been some evidence that COX-2 inhibitors may increase response to chemotherapy. Further research needs to be conducted since it is still possible that specific subsets of patients with NSCLC may benefit from COX-2 inhibitors.
