Cyclooxygenase- 2 (COX-2) is an inducible enzyme that is not found in normal conditions,. but is induced by a varie ty of pathophysiologic conditions of tissues by growth factors. inflammatory stimuli. oncogenes and tumor promoters, COX-2 is upregulated in a number of epithelial cancers. including in oral premalignant and malignant lesions, The mode of action of COX-2 in carcinogenesis may include mutiple mechanisms that may be acting at different stages of malignant disease, In this study. the expression of COX- 2 protein was assessed quantitatively 없d qualitatively by immunohistochemistry during DMBA-induced hamster buccal pouch carcinogenesis, The immunoreactivity for COX-2 protein increased as the tissue passed from hyperplasia to dysplasia and SCC, The highest mean expression was SCC at 14 week, The differences between COX-2 expression in the normal and that the dysplastic and carcinomatous lesions was statistically significant, In addition. the mean values of COX -2 expression in the stromal cells increased gradually during malignant progression, The results suggest that increased COX-2 expression may be associated with the chemically induced carcinogenic progression of hamster buccal pouch model, The gradual increasing COX-2 expression de tected during the progressive manner toward more malignant lesions shows that the COX-2 protein can have an important role in both the early and the later stages of multistep oral carcinogenesis

본 연구 결과 울금 에탄올 추출물이 DMBA에 의해 유도한 유선 암화과정에서 종양의 발생률과 종양수를 감소시킴을 확인하였다. 이러한 종양세포의 증식 억제 효과는 울금의 암 예방 효과에 대한 기본 메커니즘 중 하나이다. 앞으로 효과적인 투여 경로 및 조직 특이성을 검토하기 위하여 더 많은 연구가 필요하다고 사료된다.