Rofecoxib, a cyclo-oxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitor used extensively for the treatment of osteoarthritis, may one day prevent colon polyps that precede colorectal cancer, say researchers from Merck. In an animal study presented recently at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science [San Francisco, US; February 2001], the drug dramatically reduced the number of polyps that are associated with the later emergence of colorectal cancer, said Dr Jillian Evans, director of pharmacology at Merck Research Laboratories, West Point, Pennsylvania, US.'I'm a basic scientist and this is an animal model, but we are hopeful that this[rofecoxib]might translate into a chemopreventive in humans',Dr Evans said.