Blocking the COX-1 enzyme -- not COX-2 -- might lead to a way to prevent and treat the most common and fatal form of ovarian cancer, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center reported this week. The finding, that COX-1 inhibition slowed the growth of epithelial ovarian tumors in a mouse model of the disease, is surprising, said Sudhansu K. Dey, Ph.D., senior author of the paper and director of the Division of Reproductive and Developmental Biology in the Vanderbilt Department of Pediatrics. Previous studies have linked high levels of another cyclooxygenase enzyme, COX-2, to colorectal and other cancers. “But this is the exception,” said Dey, also professor of Cell & Developmental Biology and Pharmacology.
