Chemoprevention was effective in reducing the incidence of colorectal cancer in a new study, but the therapies worked differently depending on whether mice presented with or without benign tumors at the time the intervention started. The paper, by Wen-Chi Chang, PhD, an assistant research professor at Fox Chase Cancer Center, appears online in the peer-reviewed journal Gut.

Chang and colleagues examined the cancer preventive activity of the cholesterol-lowering agent atorvastatin – the generic form of Lipitor – alone and in combination with the anti-inflammatory drug sulindac in mice confirmed by colonoscopy to be tumour-free or bearing colorectal tumours at 7-8 weeks of age. After 14 weeks of treatment, atorvastatin completely eliminated the formation of microadenomas, the earliest detectable lesions in the development of colon adenomas, in tumour-free mice. In contrast, the combination treatment reduced the number of colon adenomas only in mice that had colon tumours at the time of study enrolment.

“These results indicate that physicians need to consider the prior colon tumour history of a high risk subject when selecting a chemopreventive regimen, to ensure that the protection afforded is optimal,” said Margie Clapper, co-leader of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Fox Chase and senior author of the study.

Source: Fox Chase Cancer Center