rss
Br J Ophthalmol 2005;89:1217-1220 doi:10.1136/bjo.2004.064915
  • Laboratory science - Extended reports

Effects of celecoxib in human retinoblastoma cell lines and in a transgenic murine model of retinoblastoma

  1. C T Tong1,
  2. S A Howard1,
  3. H R Shah1,
  4. K R Van Quill1,
  5. E T Lin2,
  6. H E Grossniklaus3,
  7. J M O’Brien1,4
  1. 1Ocular Oncology Unit, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
  2. 2Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
  3. 3Department of Ophthalmology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
  4. 4Ocular Oncology Unit, UCSF Department of Ophthalmology, 10 Koret Way, Box 0730, San Francisco, CA, USA
  1. Correspondence to: Joan M O’Brien MD, Ocular Oncology Unit, UCSF Department of Ophthalmology, 10 Koret Way, Box 0730, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; alejaitsa.ucsf.edu
  • Accepted 1 March 2005

Abstract

Background/aim: Celecoxib, a cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor and antiangiogenic agent, has demonstrated potent anticancer effects in preclinical studies and in human clinical trials. To evaluate the potential utility of this agent in the treatment of retinoblastoma, the authors investigated the effects of celecoxib in retinoblastoma cell lines and in a murine model of this disease.

Methods: Growth inhibitory effects of celecoxib were evaluated in Y79 and Weri-RB1 human retinoblastoma cell lines by WST-1 cell proliferation assay. For animal study, two groups of 24, 8 week old LHβ-TAg transgenic mice were treated with celecoxib (250 mg/kg, orally once a day) or vehicle control, 5 days/week for 6 weeks. Mice were sacrificed on day 43. Enucleated eyes were serially sectioned and ocular tumour burden was quantified by histopathological analysis.

Results: Celecoxib did not inhibit proliferation of Y79 or Weri-RB1 cells, even at concentrations far exceeding clinically achievable levels. No significant difference in ocular tumour burden between celecoxib treated and control mice (p = 0.73) was found.

Conclusion: Celecoxib was ineffective at inhibiting proliferation of retinoblastoma cells in vitro and was ineffective at controlling retinoblastoma tumour growth in a murine model of this disease. On the basis of these findings, oral celecoxib therapy is unlikely to have clinical utility in the treatment of retinoblastoma.

Footnotes

  • Competing interests: none declared

This Article

  1. Abstract
  2. Full text
  3. PDF

Responses

  1. Submit a response
  2. No responses published

Register for free content

The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.

Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.