Effect of Celecoxib on Survival of Mobile Tongue Cancer

AIM: The goal of the present study was to evaluate the effects of celecoxib on treatment outcomes of squamous cell carcinoma of the mobile tongue. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Among 158 patients who were diagnosed with mobile tongue cancer, 19 received celecoxib during the preoperative, postoperative, or post-recurrence phase. Differences in disease-specific survival (DSS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) between patients who received celecoxib (study group) and those who did not (control group) were analyzed. RESULTS: For the entire cohort, DSS and RFS were not significantly different according to duration of celecoxib treatment (p=0.293 and 0.703, respectively). Among patients who received chemotherapy, DSS was significantly higher in the study group than in the control group (p=0.048), but RFS was not different between the two groups (p=0.117). CONCLUSION: When combined with chemotherapy, celecoxib may have a beneficial effect on the survival of patients with mobile tongue cancer.