Why Take Celebrex to Treat Colon Cancer?

Two studies indicate that the controversial Cox-2 Inhibitor drugs, such as Vioxx and Bextra, may protect people from colon cancer.

However, Pfizer, manufacturer of Celebrex, the last commercially available Cox-2 drug, completely funded one of the studies, and partially paid for the other.

In the latter study, which involved more than 2,000 patients, less than half of those taking Celebrex developed polyps in their colons, versus 60 percent of people taking a placebo. In the other study, about a third of the patients taking 400 mg of Celebrex daily developed new colon polyps. Interestingly, nearly 8 percent of the patients taking Celebrex in the Pfizer-funded study suffered from heart-related side effects.

Due to the known heart risks of Celebrex, researchers did not recommend it for patients with cardiovascular problems.

Medical News Today   http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/healthnews.php?newsid=40963 April 4, 2006

Yahoo News   http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060403/ap_on_he_me/colon_cancer  April 3, 2006

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

If Celebrex more than doubles your risks of a heart attack, why would you ever consider taking it to prevent colon cancer? Perhaps it's because the largest drug company in the world, Pfizer, hired some of the most sophisticated and effective marketers on the planet that can design studies and market them to deceive and manipulate you. It's always important to examine the funding source for any study you might see reported in the news. Whatever drug companies may claim, funding influences their results. This conflict of interest has been well described in the medical literature. Surveys of the medical literature have shown that studies paid for by drug companies are more likely than those with other sponsors to show results favorable to the product tested. Even if the author is a medical school professor and an expert in their field, if the study is paid for by a drug company, then its company employees usually collect and analyze the data, and they often decide how it should be presented. Additionally, they also hire professional writers to compile the reports and only allow the researcher to "sign off" on the paper. Often, the principal author doesn't even see all the data. In some cases, studies have been submitted to journals with the "methods" section -- the explanation of how the study was carried out -- left blank, on the grounds that it was "proprietary." That's why it pays to read between the lines and not take everything you read or hear on the news for face value. Please understand, you don't need Celebrex or any other drug to lower your risk of cancer if you follow the major recommendations  I outlined last year:

1. Control your : Make certain that you limit your intake of processed foods and sugars as much as possible.

2. Get appropriate amounts of animal-based omega-3 fats and make sure you use cod liver oil if you don't have regular access to sun exposure.

3. Get appropriate exercise. One of the primary reasons exercise works is that it drives your insulin levels down. Controlling insulin levels is one of the most powerful ways to reduce your cancer risks.

4. Normalize your vitamin D levels with safe amounts of sun exposure. This works primarily by optimizing your vitamin D level. If you have regular access to sun exposure then you should use fish oil, not cod liver oil, as your primary source of omega-3 fats. Ideally, it would be best to monitor your vitamin D levels.

5. Eat according to your metabolic type. The potent anti-cancer effects of this principle are very much underappreciated. When we treat cancer patients in our clinic this is one of the most powerful anti-cancer strategies we have.

6. Have a tool to permanently erase the neurological short-circuiting that can activate cancer genes. Even the CDC states that 85 percent of disease is caused by emotions. It is likely that this factor may be more important than all the other physical ones listed here, so make sure this is addressed. Energy psychology seems to be one of the best approaches and my particular favorite tool, as you may know, is the Emotional Freedom Technique.

7. Only 25 percent of people eat enough vegetables, so by all means eat as many vegetables as you are comfortable with. Ideally, they should be fresh and organic. However, please understand that, frequently, fresh conventionally grown vegetables are healthier than organic ones that are older and wilted in the grocery store. They are certainly better than no vegetables at all, so don't use that as an excuse. If you are a carb metabolic type you may need up to 300 percent more vegetables than a protein metabolic type.

8. Make sure you are not in the two-thirds of the population who are overweight and maintain an ideal body weight.

9. Get enough high-quality sleep .

10. Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins like pesticides, household chemical cleaners, synthetic air fresheners and air pollution.

11. Boil, poach or steam your foods, rather than frying or charbroiling them.

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