Addition of celecoxib to adjuvant FOLFOX for stage III colon cancer: impact on disease-free survival

Aspirin and COX-2 inhibitors have been associated with reduced risk of colorectal polyps and cancer in observational and randomized studies. The effect of celecoxib as adjuvant treatment for nonmetastatic colon cancer is unknown. The CALGB/SWOG 80702 study randomized patients with stage III colon cancer in a 2 x 2 factorial design to 3 versus 6 months adjuvant FOLFOX and to 3 years celecoxib versus placebo. Results of the celecoxib versus placebo randomization have now been published. Three-year disease-free survival was 76.6% with celecoxib versus 73.4% with placebo (HR 0.89; p=0.12), while five-year overall survival was 84.3% with celecoxib versus 81.6% with placebo (HR 0.86; p=0.13). The authors conclude that addition of celecoxib for 3 years to standard adjuvant treatment for stage III colon cancer did not significantly improve outcomes.