Concurrent Radiotherapy and/or Cisplatin With or Without Celecoxib in Patients With Primary Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Development of Novel Diagnostic Tools and Therapeutic Strategies for Oral Cancer

The research and development of novel anti-tumor agents in oral cancer is slow, the investigation of repositioning use of currently available drugs in clinical, such as a selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor (Celebrex/Celecoxib) maybe a potential alternative strategy.

Celebrex (Celecoxib) is a form of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that directly targets COX-2 enzyme to block the inflammatory signaling and has been approved to treat colon cancer. In our preliminary findings, Celecoxib significantly inhibited cell growth,proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition programs in oral squamous cell carcinoma cell (OSCC) lines. The Institutional Review Board in China Medical University Hospital (CMUH) has approved the combination treatment of concurrent radiotherapy (RT) and/or Cisplatin with or without Celecoxib in a phase II clinical trial for relapse-free primary OSCC patients.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. OSCC patients with T1,2/ N0 and without pathological risk features
2. OSCC patients with T1,2/ N0,1 and pathological risk features
3. OSCC patients with T4a/ N2,3

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Pregnant women paitents
2. Taiwanese aboriginal patients
3. Not primary OSCC patients
4. OSCC patients with dysfunction of liver and/or kidneys