环氧合酶(cyclooxygenase,COX)可催化花生四烯酸合成前列腺素(PGS),COX有两种形式,一种为基本表达形式COX-1,另一种是在诱导情况下才会表达的COX-2。COX-2基因是一种能被生长因子、癌基因、致癌剂和肿瘤促进剂佛波醇酯诱导的立即、早期反应的基因。COX-1却很少受这些因素影响。大量研究表明:COX-2在癌症发展过程中起很重要的作用,它在转 Cyclooxygenase (COX) catalyzes the synthesis of prostaglandins (PGS) by arachidonic acid. There are two forms of COX, one is COX-1 and the other is expressed under induction COX-2. The COX-2 gene is a gene that is immediately and early response induced by growth factors, oncogenes, carcinogens and phorbol esters as tumor promoters. COX-1 is rarely affected by these factors. Numerous studies have shown that COX-2 plays a very important role in the development of cancer.