Scientists who belong to Florida campus of Scripps Research Institute found that there is painkiller that is mostly prescribed pain and anti-inflammation drugs slows the growth rate of some targeted kind of cancer in animal models and medication could have the same effect on other types.

Celebrex targets an enzyme called “Cyclooxygenase-2”, which is linked to pain and inflammation. It is also found critical in the creation of prostaglandins that act like hormones and play a role in promoting tumor growth. COX-2 is typically low in normal tissue and high in multiple types of cancers.

“We were actually interested in determining what a particular signaling pathway does in cancer. In the process, we found that it activates genes that promote survival of tumor cells and that they do so by turning on enzymes involved in inflammation, including COX2, which anti-inflammatory drugs like Celebrex inhibit,” said TSRI Associate Professor Joseph Kissil, who led the study.

The new study says that a signaling cascade known as Hippo-YAP pathway is showing the results and the protein YAP is required for proliferation and NF2 cells and tumor formation.

“Our study shows that COX2 inhibitors do have an effect on the tumor cells. They also have an impact on inflammatory responses that play a role in tumor growth. It’s possible that in other cancers these effects might actually be stronger because of the drug’s impact on inflammation,” said TSRI Research Associate William Guerrant, the study’s first author.