Molecular Targeting of 15-Lipoxygenase-1 (15-LOX-1) for Apoptosis Induction in Human Colorectal Cancers

Celecoxib is a drug that was developed to treat arthritis. However, celecoxib may also help to stop or slow the growth of colon and rectal tumor cells. At the start of the study, you will be asked questions about your medical history, have a complete physical exam, and have around 2 tablespoons of blood drawn for blood tests as part of your routine care for familial adenomatous polyposis. Also, blood tests such as fasting blood glucose and lipid profiling (cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglyceride) will be assessed to determine eligibility. Women who are able to have children must have a negative blood pregnancy test within 14 days of starting celecoxib. Before your scheduled colonoscopy, you will fill out a form asking about any medications and nutritional supplements that you are taking. In addition, you will be asked to complete a diet history. This will help researchers to evaluate patients' dietary habits. The questionnaire takes about 15 minutes to complete. You will also have around 1 teaspoon of blood drawn to measure the amount of celecoxib in your blood. Then, during your already scheduled colonoscopy procedure, you will have additional tissue biopsies (the size of a pencil tip) of your colon taken. For a colonoscopy procedure, a flexible tube with a light attached to the end is used to look inside your colon/lower gut. The biopsies will be taken through the flexible tube using a special cutting tool. Up to 23 biopsy samples may be taken. The biopsies should take about 20 extra minutes to complete. After the procedure, you will start taking celecoxib by mouth once every 12 hours for 6 months. You will also have around 1 teaspoon of blood drawn to measure the amount of celecoxib in your blood at the completion of month 2 and 4 of celecoxib treatment. At the end of the 6 month treatment period, you will have another colonoscopy procedure. This is an additional procedure performed solely for this study and is not part of your standard of care for the treatment of familial adenomatous polyposis. A second set of biopsies will be taken (23 maximum). These biopsy samples will be studied and compared to the samples taken before treatment with celecoxib. You will also have around 1 teaspoon of blood drawn to measure the amount of celecoxib in your blood. You will be contacted by phone 72 hours after your first dose of celecoxib and then every 2 weeks for the study to check for any side effects you may be experiencing. The maximum amount of time you will remain on this study is 6 months. If at any time, you experience any intolerable side effects, you will be taken off the study. This is an investigational study. Celecoxib is FDA approved and commercially available for familial adenomatous polyposis patients to reduce polyp formation. Up to 40 patients will take part in this study. All will be enrolled at M. D. Anderson.