COX-2: A target for colon cancer prevention

Disease prevention is one area that both public and governmental agencies strongly support owing to its potential for an improved lifestyle and a reduction in health care costs. In this review, we focus on the clinical development of one target for cancer prevention, the COX-2 enzyme. This provides an excellent example of how basic research in biochemistry and pharmacology can lead to translational studies and eventually to approval of a drug by the FDA for use as a chemopreventive agent in humans. It is hoped that, as the genome sequence: is understood more clearly, other targets will emerge that will provide even more effective drugs for future cancer prevention.