Researchers at the University of Southern California found a new drug compound that show anti-tumor effects. According to the research, 2.5-dimethyl-celecoxib appears to target tumor cells and surrounding blood vessels without having side effects that are associated with Cox-2 inhibitors. As per the findings, the drug compund also show anti-tumor effect even while attacking the vasculature that provides the blood supply necessary for tumor growth.

Professor of pathology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, Florence M. Hofman said that the blood vessels, if left behind, within the tumor would help the tumor cells to survive and re-grow. He also stated that they believed that DMC might aid in treating brain tumors, such as gliomas, which are highly vascular and also appeared as a promising long-term treatment, as it didn’t show negative cardiovascular effects linked with Cox-2 inhibitors.

Cox-2 inhibitors are most commonly used as anti-inflammatory drugs and have been effective in treating certain kinds of cancer, explains Hofman. But, its pro-longed prescription can cause greater risk of heart attack and strokes while DMS retains anti-tumor activity without inhibiting the action of Cox-2.

From Science Daily:

Researchers at the University of Southern California have identified a new drug compound that appears to target tumor cells and surrounding blood vessels without the negative side effects typically associated with Cox-2 inhibitors.

The compound 2.5-dimethyl-celecoxib (DMC) appears to have a strong anti-tumor effect while also attacking the vasculature that provides the blood supply necessary for tumor growth, according to data presented at the AACR 100th Annual Meeting 2009. The findings were presented on April 19.

“If left behind, the blood vessels within the tumor will help the tumor cells to survive and re-grow,” says Florence M. Hofman, Ph.D., professor of pathology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “We believe that DMC will be particularly useful for treating brain tumors such as gliomas, which are highly vascular.

The research aimed the effectiveness of the DMC compound by isolating endothelial cells that line the inner surface of blood vessels from human nonmalignant brain and glioma tissues and treating them with DMC.

The findings showed that the drug was not cytotoxic to endothelial cells associated with tumors and also suppressed cell proliferation and migration without showing negative effects on normal tissues.

In the last Hofman said that their research was focused on brain tumors, but they believed that the drug might work for various different tumors that depend on blood vessels. However, further research would help them in understanding its full potential.