Background: Selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors are analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory drugs. They have been found to inhibit the development of glioma in laboratory investigations. Whether these drugs reduce the risk of glioma incidence in humans is unknown.
Methods: We conducted a matched case-control analysis using the U.K.-based Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). We identified 2,469 cases matched to 24,690 controls on age, sex, calendar time, general practice, and number of years of active history in the CPRD prior to the index date. We conducted conditional logistic regression analyses to determine relative risks, estimated as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of glioma in relation to use of selective COX-2 inhibitors, adjusted for several confounding variables.
Results: Use of selective COX-2 inhibitors was unrelated to risk of glioma (adjusted OR for 1-9 versus 0 prescriptions = 1.02; 95% CI = 0.92-1.13, 10-29 versus 0 prescriptions = 1.01; 95% CI = 0.80-1.28, ≥30 versus 0 prescriptions = 1.16; 95% CI = 0.86-1.55). Trends for increasing numbers of prescriptions for other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and non-NSAID analgesics were also not associated with glioma risk.
Conclusion: Further epidemiologic studies are needed to confirm the null relation of use of selective COX-2 inhibitors to glioma risk and to explain the discrepancy between laboratory investigations and our observational study.
Impact: Use of selective COX-2 inhibitors is unrelated to glioma risk.