Clinical Trial Details
— Status: Recruiting
Administrative data
NCT number |
NCT05865548 |
Other study ID # |
HNC02 |
Secondary ID |
|
Status |
Recruiting |
Phase |
Phase 2/Phase 3
|
First received |
|
Last updated |
|
Start date |
May 17, 2023 |
Est. completion date |
September 30, 2024 |
Study information
Verified date |
May 2023 |
Source |
Banaras Hindu University |
Contact |
Manoj Pandey |
Email |
mpandey66[@]bhu.ac.in |
Is FDA regulated |
No |
Health authority |
|
Study type |
Interventional
|
Clinical Trial Summary
Despite accumulating evidence of the benefit of aspirin in cancer, its effect on improving
cancer survival is still debated since the mechanism by which it impacts cancer survival is
not completely understood and the published data are discordant. There have been 4 randomized
controlled trials (RCT) showing mixed results from no effect to improved survival. Several
retrospective and observational studies have reported a survival advantage of adding aspirin
to the treatment for various cancers. A meta-analysis of 118 studies, 63 of them specifically
reporting on cancer mortality and the rest on all-cause mortality, found a 21% reduction in
cancer deaths and about 20% reduction in all-cause mortality (pooled hazard ratio (HR): 0.79;
95% confidence intervals: 0.73, 0.84).
However, the evidence is still lacking and there is need to do more RCT
Description:
Aspirin (ASA), an NSAID, is a well-known antipyretic and analgesic agent and is used to
prevent recurrent transient ischemic attacks or strokes. In addition to its classical anti-
inflammatory function, clinical and epidemiological studies indicate that aspirin can be used
as a preventive or therapeutic agent in multiple cancers, including oral cancers
While the exact mechanism through which NSAIDs contribute to chemo prevention is not
completely understood, Aspirin inhibits the enzyme Cox; Cox-1 and Cox-2 are well
characterized. Cox converts a arachidonic acid to prostaglandin H2, which in turn produces
biologically active prostaglandins that influence path physiological processes in a range of
tissues including angiogenesis, apoptosis, cell proliferation and migration, inflammatory
response and thrombosis. Inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis is considered the pre dominant
mechanism by which NSAIDs act as anti-inflammatory agents, but it is unclear whether the
anti-cancer properties of these agents can be solely attributed to Cox inhibition.
Recently, Cox-2 over expression has been identified in a number of different malignancies and
it has been hypothesized that Cox-2 prostaglandins promote tumor genesis by inhibiting
apoptosis, modulating the immune system and regulating tumor associated angiogenesis.
A detailed search of literature and bio informatics analysis of the data obtained showed that
the effect of Aspirin on survival and prevention of recurrence and secondary cancer could be
due to its effect on following 11 genes PTGS2, PIK3CA, PARP1, PARP2, VEGFA, KDR, PTGES2,
NFKB1, P53, FLT1, VEGFR. These genes not only interact and control each other but also
control cell cycle regulation through other genes as shown below. These could be due to co
expression, physical interactions, shared domains or predicted interactions in absence of
data.
Based on the gene-gene and protein-protein interactions they can be clustered into three with
PTGES2, PTGS2 and p53 being in first cluster (figure 2 below), the NGS data obtained from the
previous patients also showed the p53 to be the primary driver gene (unpublished data,
submitted) in nearly 50% of the subjects. It has also been shown that patients with p53
mutations
have poor survival and increased recurrence rates compared to those without p53 mutations.
This coupled with literature showing improved survival and low recurrence in patients
receiving Aspirin suggest the need for a RCT as this has never been done before.