What is celecoxib (Celebrex™)?
Celecoxib (CelebrexTM) is a COX-2 inhibiting drug manufactured by Pfizer, Inc., New York. Celecoxib was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of both osteoarthritis and adult rheumatoid arthritis (diseases in which the joints are inflamed) in December 1998. Because scientific work suggested the potential for COX-2 inhibitors to prevent and treat cancer, the NCI, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), formed agreements with Pfizer to study this drug for the prevention and treatment of a variety of cancers. • What is the Adenoma Prevention with Celecoxib (APC) Trial? The APC Trial was a clinical trial to determine if the arthritis drug celecoxib, which inhibits the enzyme COX-2, reduces the occurrence of new adenomas (precancerous polyps) in the colon and rectum of people who have already had such a polyp removed. More than 2,000 men and women age 30 and older were randomly assigned to take either 200 mg of celecoxib twice a day, 400 mg of ce
