Vitamin D and NSAIDs slow prostate cancer

STANFORD, Calif., Aug 31, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Researchers say low doses of activated vitamin D and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, taken together, can slow the growth of prostate cancer cells.

In a study published in the journal "Cancer Research", Stanford University researchers say the dosage of both activated vitamin D, or calcitriol, and the NSAIDs could be reduced by half to 1/10th to thwart prostate cancer cell growth in cell lines and primary tissue cultures.

If animal models and human trials confirm the findings, the drug combination may help to keep the NSAID family of drugs among the pharmaceutical choices for the prevention and treatment of cancer. That includes ibuprofen, indomethacin and naproxen, in addition to other so-called COX-2 inhibitors linked with increased risk for cardiovascular disease, including Vioxx(R) and Celebrex(R).

"NSAIDs have their own risks," said Dr.David Feldman, professor of Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine. "So, we have to be careful even with lower doses and we still need to watch the patients very closely if we intend to keep them on these drugs for extended periods of time. But we are aiming to find doses that are less toxic and far more tolerable for the patient."