Clinical significance of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in multiple myeloma

Andreas Trojan*, Marianne Tinguely, Sonia Vallet, Burkhardt Seifert, Bettina Jenni, Alfred Zippelius, Mathias Witzens-Harig, Gunhild Mechtersheimer, Anthony D. Ho, Hartmut Goldschmidt, Dirk Jäger, Mario Boccadoro, Marco Ladetto

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal article (peer-reviewed)Journal article

25 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Several biological and clinical considerations suggest the involvement of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), the key enzyme of prostaglandin (PG) synthesis, in the pathogenesis and progression of haematological malignancies. Despite the wealth of data concerning COX-2 expression, only limited information is available on multiple myeloma (MM). Using standard immunohistochemistry we therefore evaluated COX-2 protein expression in samples from 57 patients with a primary diagnosis of MM. Time to progression and a variety of clinicopathological features were evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox regression model. In addition, COX-2 expression was evaluated by staining bone marrow from healthy donors and 11 patients with MGUS. Overall, 31 MM samples (54%) expressed COX-2. Positivity for COX-2 was unrelated to stage or clinical or molecular features of the disease. However, patients with COX-2 positive tumours experienced a significantly shorter time to progression (17 vs 30 months, p = 0.037). In summary, COX-2 is frequently expressed in MM and correlates with shorter progression-free survival.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)400-403
Number of pages4
JournalSwiss Medical Weekly
Volume136
Issue number25-26
Publication statusPublished - 24 Jun 2006
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2)
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Multiple myeloma
  • Prognosis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

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