Purpose:
RATIONALE: Celecoxib may be effective in preventing colorectal cancer in patients who have a
history of rectal polyps or colorectal neoplasia.
PURPOSE: Randomized phase II trial to study the effectiveness of celecoxib in preventing
colorectal cancer in patients who have a history of rectal polyps or colorectal neoplasia.
Study summary:
OBJECTIVES:
Primary
- Compare the effects of celecoxib vs placebo on the number of rectal aberrant crypt foci
in patients with premalignant rectal polyps or prior sporadic colorectal neoplasia.
Secondary
- Compare the effects of these drugs on proliferation index, apoptotic index, and gene
expression patterns in ascending and descending colon tissue from these patients before
and after treatment.
- Assess gene expression patterns in normal mucosa from the ascending vs descending colon
in patients referred for screening, surveillance, or diagnostic colonoscopy.
OUTLINE: This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, chemoprevention study.
Patients are stratified according to age (18 to 49 vs 50 and over) and number of rectal
aberrant crypt foci (5-9 vs 10 or more).
All patients undergo a baseline biomarker assessment and full colonoscopy to resect all
neoplasms, quantitate rectal aberrant crypt foci, and biopsy rectal mucosa.
Depending on the results of the biomarker assessments, patients are randomized to 1 of 2
treatment arms. Patients with no adenomas of 5 mm or greater receive no further treatment.
- Arm I: Patients receive oral celecoxib twice daily.
- Arm II: Patients receive oral placebo twice daily. In both arms, treatment continues
for 6 months in the absence of unacceptable toxicity.
All patients undergo an endoscopic exam of the colorectum at completion of study.
PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 100 patients will be accrued for the baseline biomarker
assessment and a total of 40 patients (20 per arm) will be accrued for the chemoprevention
study within 1 year.
Criteria:
DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
- Age 18 to 49 with one of the following colorectal abnormalities:
- At least one adenoma that is at least 1 cm
- At least 3 adenomas of any size with at least 5 rectal aberrant crypt foci
(ACFs)
- Age 50 and over with one of the following colorectal abnormalities:
- At least one adenoma that is at least 5 mm and at least 5 rectal ACFs
- History of polyps (at least 1 adenoma) within the past 5 years
- No history of germline cancer syndrome
- No stage III or IV colorectal cancer (Dukes' C or D) diagnosed within the past 6
months
- No current colorectal cancer
- No inflammatory bowel disease (e.g., Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis)
PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
Age
- See Disease Characteristics
- 18 and over
Performance status
- Not specified
Life expectancy
- Not specified
Hematopoietic
- Hemoglobin greater than 11.5 g/dL
- WBC greater than 3,000/mm^3
- Platelet count greater than 125,000/mm^3
- No significant bleeding disorder
Hepatic
- AST and ALT no greater than 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
- Bilirubin no greater than 1.5 times ULN
- Alkaline phosphatase no greater than 1.5 times ULN
- No chronic or acute hepatic disorder
Renal
- Creatinine no greater than 1.5 times ULN
- No chronic or acute renal disorder
Cardiovascular
- No uncontrolled hypertension
- No unstable angina
- No congestive heart failure
Pulmonary
- No asthma
- No severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Gastrointestinal
- No active gastrointestinal ulcers
- No history of peptic ulcer disease
Other
- No prior hypersensitivity reaction to NSAIDs, aspirin, or sulfa drugs
- No medical contraindication to NSAID use
- Not pregnant or nursing
- Negative pregnancy test
- Fertile female patients must use effective contraception
- No known allergic reaction to indigo carmine
- No other clinically significant medical condition or abnormal laboratory value that
would preclude study participation
PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
Biologic therapy
- Not specified
Chemotherapy
- Not specified
Endocrine therapy
- Anticipated use of corticosteroids less than 2 weeks over 6 months
- Anticipated use of mometasone less than 4 weeks over 6 months
- No other concurrent inhaled steroids for 30 days before or during study
participation
Radiotherapy
- No prior pelvic radiotherapy
Surgery
- Not specified
Other
- More than 30 days since prior investigational drugs
- No prior participation in this study
- No regular nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) or aspirin use (average of 3
or more doses per week for at least 3 months) except low-dose aspirin for
cardiovascular disease prophylaxis
- No other concurrent investigational drugs
- No concurrent fluconazole or lithium