REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Pharmacology of Anti-Cancer Drugs
This article is part of the Research TopicVolume II: Tumour microenvironment in cancer research and drug discoveryView all 4 articles
Celecoxib in Oncology: Targeting the COX-2/PGE₂ Axis to Reprogram the Tumor Immune Microenvironment and Enhance Multimodal Therapy
Provisionally accepted
- Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Celecoxib, a selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor, has emerged as a multifaceted therapeutic agent in oncology due to its dual anti-inflammatory and antitumor properties. This review synthesizes recent advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms and clinical applications of celecoxib in cancer treatment. Celecoxib not only hinders the proliferation and metastasis of tumor cells by inhibiting 2 COX-2 synthesis, but also inhibits the intratumoral infiltration of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and activates cytotoxic T cells, thereby reshaping the inhibitory immune microenvironment. Preclinical and clinical studies demonstrate its synergistic effects with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy, particularly in augmenting immune checkpoint blockade efficacy. Despite the breakthrough of celecoxib in the field of oncology treatment, large-scale trials are warranted to validate its long-term safety and biomarker-driven accuracy. This work underscores the potential of celecoxib as a cornerstone in multimodal cancer therapy and provides a roadmap for its integration into personalized treatment paradigms.
Keywords: Celecoxib, COX-2 inhibition, Tumor Microenvironment, combination therapy, precision oncology
Received: 23 Aug 2025; Accepted: 05 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kuang, Yang, Zhong, Zhou and Ye. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yi Zhou, zhouyi3030@163.com
Jianming Ye, yejianming@gmu.edu.cn
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.