Atorvastatin Calcium and Celecoxib in Treating Patients With Rising PSA Levels After Local Therapy for Prostate Cancer

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Histologically confirmed prostate cancer

  * Stage D0 disease

    * Tumor originally diagnosed as being limited to the prostate and now having a rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) after definitive local therapy
* Must have undergone local treatment via prostatectomy or radiotherapy

  * PSA values must be ≥ 0.2 ng/mL as determined by 2 measurements, ≥ 1 month apart and ≥ 6 months after prostatectomy
  * PSA values must be ≥ 2.0 ng/mL as determined by 2 measurements, ≥ 1 month apart and ≥ 6 months after radiotherapy
  * The first two PSA values along with a third value must all be rising (i.e., there must be an overall rising trajectory, such that the third value cannot be lower than the first value)
* No metastatic disease by baseline bone scan and CT scan of the abdomen and/or pelvis

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

* Life expectancy ≥ 6 months
* ECOG performance status 0-2
* WBC ≥ 3,500/µL
* ANC ≥ 1,500/µL
* Platelet count \> 100,000/µL
* Hemoglobin \> 10 g/dL
* Serum creatinine \< 1.5 mg/dL OR creatinine clearance \> 50 mL/min
* Total bilirubin normal
* SGOT and/or SGPT normal
* No serious concomitant systemic disorder that, at the discretion of the investigator, would compromise the safety of the patient or compromise the patient's ability to complete the study
* No second primary malignancy within the past 5 years except adequately treated in situ carcinoma (e.g., non-melanomatous carcinoma of the skin) or other malignancy with no evidence of recurrence
* No active clinically significant infection requiring antibiotics
* No history of coronary artery disease
* No myocardial infarction within the past 6 months
* No sulfa allergy
* No history of gastrointestinal bleeding

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

* See Disease Characteristics
* No prior hormone-ablative treatment

  * Prior neoadjuvant hormone-ablative therapy allowed provided it was completed ≥ 3 months ago
* More than 4 weeks since prior herbal products with hormonal activity such as soy, saw palmetto, or PC-SPES
* No prior or concurrent nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAIDS) for 7 consecutive days
* No COX-2 inhibitor and/or statin within the past 6 months
* No concurrent warfarin or any other anticoagulant, calcitriol, fibric acid derivatives, lipid-modifying doses of niacin, or strong cytochrome P450 3A4 inhibitors (e.g., cyclosporine, erythromycin, clarithromycin, and azole antifungals) or inducers (e.g., St John wort)
* No other concurrent anticancer agents or therapies including chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, radiotherapy, or experimental therapy