The results of a new study, published on 7th Space Interactive, show that the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), particularly in combination with cisplatin (CDDP), has been shown to exert an anti-tumoral effect on mesothelioma cells.

Most people are familiar with the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug naproxen, which is found in their common pain relievers like Aleve.

Wikipedia defines a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug as “drugs with analgesic, antipyretic and, in higher doses, anti-inflammatory effects – they reduce pain, fever and inflammation. The term “non-steroidal” is used to distinguish these drugs from steroids, which (among a broad range of other effects) have a similar eicosanoid-depressing, anti-inflammatory action. As analgesics, NSAIDs are unusual in that they are non-narcotic. The most prominent members of this group of drugs are aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen partly because they are available over-the-counter in many areas.”

The NSAID used in this study is piroxicam.

The study used two mesothelioma cell lines, and explored the effects of piroxicam alone, as well as in conjunction with CDDP. The report says that “treatment with piroxicam or CDDP alone altered the cell cycle phase distribution as well as the expression of some cell cycle regulatory proteins in both cell lines” and that “these effects were increased, even if in a not completely overlapping manner, after treatment with the association of piroxicam and CDDP.”

The report notes that “the mechanisms through which NSAIDs regulate the cell cycle as well as the signal pathways involved in the growth inhibition, remain unclear” but says the findings from this recent study “hold promise in the treatment of mesothelioma.”

The study was orginally published in the Journal of Transitional Medicine.