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.