Non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and COX-2 inhibitors as anti-angiogenic drugs

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and specific inhibitors of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, collectively referred to as COX-2 inhibitors, are therapeutics widely used for the treatment of pain, inflammation and fever. Experimental and clinical evidence indicate that COX-2 is a potential therapeutic target in cancer, and that NSAIDs and COX-2 inhibitors (COXIBs) also have anti-cancer activity.1,2 COX-2 is expressed by cancer cells and cells of the tumor stroma during tumor progression and in response to chemotherapy or radiotherapy.