The safety and efficacy of celecoxib in children with familial adenomatous polyposis.

OBJECTIVES: Celecoxib is approved as an adjunctive chemopreventive agent in adults with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). Its safety and efficacy for colorectal polyps in children is unknown. We evaluated the short-term (3 months) safety and preliminary efficacy of celecoxib in children with FAP. METHODS: This was a phase I, dose-escalation trial, with three successive cohorts of six children. Children of ages 10-14 years with APC gene mutations and/or adenomas with a family history of FAP were studied at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the Cleveland Clinic. Colonoscopy was performed at baseline and month 3. Random assignment was in a 2:1 generic:placebo ratio, escalating from cohort 1 (4 mg/kg/day) to cohort 2 (8 mg/kg/day) to cohort 3 (16 mg/kg/day). Adherence and adverse event (AE) monitoring was conducted at 2-week intervals during drug administration. Safety profile, difference in number, and percent change in colorectal polyps were compared among the four treatments (placebo and the three dose-escalation groups). RESULTS: Eighteen subjects completed drug dosing and both colonoscopies. Median age was 12.3 years (56% female). No clinically meaningful differences in AEs were seen between placebo subjects and subjects at any of the three celecoxib doses. Median polyp count at baseline was 31. There was a 39.1% increase in the number of polyps in placebo subjects at month 3, whereas in the highest dose celecoxib group, 16 mg/kg/day, a 44.2% reduction was seen (P=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Celecoxib at a dose of 16 mg/kg/day, corresponding to the adult dose of 400 mg BID, is safe, well tolerated, and significantly reduced the number of colorectal polyps in children with FAP.

Aspirin use and mortality from cancer in a prospective cohort study.

UNLABELLED: There is evidence that use of aspirin offers several potential health benefits including cancer prevention and cardiovascular disease prevention. The purpose of this study was to assess the association between aspirin use and death from cancer and cardiovascular diseases with a special emphasis on cancer mortality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The baseline data for this prospective cohort study were collected in 1971--1975 for the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Study (NHANES I) and 1976--1980 as part of the second NHANES (NHANES II) with mortality follow-up using the National Death Index (NDI) through December 31, 1992. The main analyses were the relative risks of total mortality and cause-specific mortality for persons who used aspirin compared to persons who did not use aspirin adjusted for confounding using Cox proportional hazards. RESULTS: The proportion of aspirin users was lower among cancer cases than non-cases (58% versus 66%) and use of aspirin decreased with age. Consequently, age was a negative confounder attenuating the protective association between aspirin use and cancer and cardiovascular mortality. After adjusting for age, BMI, sex, race, poverty index, education and smoking, we observed a significant association of reduced all cause mortality among all aspirin users (relative risk [RR] = 0.88; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.85 - 0.99) and lung cancer mortality among male aspirin users (RR = 0.69; CI 0.49-0.96). However, for women we observed adverse associations between aspirin use and bladder (RR=12.31; CI 2.98-50.80) and brain cancer mortality (RR=3.13; CI 1.09-9.00), although case numbers were small. CONCLUSION: Aspirin use appears to offer protection from all causes of mortality and lung cancer among men. In women aspirin use is associated with increased risk of bladder and brain cancer. Because of the small number of female bladder (n=15) and brain (n=20) cancer cases in this cohort the findings require confirmation.