It is well admitted that the link between chronic
inflammation and
cancer involves
cytokines and mediators of inflammatory pathways, which act during the different steps of
tumorigenesis. The
cyclooxygenases (COXs) are a family of
enzymes, which catalyze the rate-limiting step of
prostaglandin biosynthesis. This family contains three members: ubiquitously expressed COX-1, which is involved in homeostasis; the inducible COX-2
isoform, which is upregulated during both
inflammation and
cancer; and COX-3, expressed in brain and spinal cord, whose functions remain to be elucidated. COX-2 was described to modulate cell proliferation and apoptosis mainly in solid
tumors, that is, colorectal, breast, and
prostate cancers, and, more recently, in
hematological malignancies. These findings prompt us to analyze here the effects of a combination of
COX-2 inhibitors together with different clinically used therapeutic strategies in order to further improve the efficiency of future anticancer treatments. COX-2 modulation is a promising field investigated by many research groups.