Research

Marrow transplant studies in dogs with malignant lymphoma.
Appelbaum FR, Deeg HJ, Storb R, Self S, Graham TC, Sale GE, Weiden PL.
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Ninety-five dogs with spontaneous malignant lymphoma in chemotherapy-induced remission were treated with total-body irradiation (TBI) and bone marrow transplantation [BMT]. Among 38 dogs treated with 8.4 Gy delivered at 4 cGy/min, 9 (24%) became long-term disease-free survivors. Ten of the 38 (26%) died of transplant-related complications and the actuarial relapse rate was approximately 65%. Forty animals were treated with higher-dose TBI (13.5 Gy). The higher-dose TBI led to an increased incidence of transplant-related deaths (55% vs. 26%) and did not reduce the actuarial relapse rate. Eight animals were treated with 8.4 Gy at 4 cGy/min, allogeneic marrow from unrelated donors, and posttransplant immunosuppression with methotrexate and cyclosporine. Of 8 animals, 6 died within 2 weeks of transplant of infection and 2 died later of graft-versus-host disease. Finally, 9 dogs were treated with 8.4 Gy at 4 cGy/min, autologous marrow, and posttransplant methotrexate and cyclosporine. Six of these animals died within 2 weeks of transplant. These studies thus demonstrated that dogs with malignant lymphoma in remission can be cured with high-dose TBI and autologous marrow transplantation, that increasing the total dose of TBI led to increased toxicity without a decrease in the relapse rate, and that post-transplant therapy with methotrexate and cyclosporine was poorly tolerated in these animals. PMID: 3887690 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Is radiation therapy effective against lymphoma?

Patients [human] with early-stage Hodgkin lymphoma who were treated with multidrug chemotherapy alone were more likely to be alive 12 years later than patients who received treatment that included radiation therapy, according to findings from a phase III clinical trial.
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Read this if your dog needs chemo for lymphoma!
A 16-week or 25-week protocol by itself, without continued treatment for the rest of the dog's life, offers the same overall survival time as a protocol PLUS continued maintenance. And your dog gets to have a break from treatment - an important contribution to his quality of life and a monetary savings for you!

"Lymphoma is the most common hematologic neoplasm [cancer] of dogs. Although the order of drug administration and duration of the maintenance portion of the protocol vary considerably, most oncologists agree that a doxorubicin-based combination chemotherapy protocol provides the longest period of disease control and overall survival. The use of a prolonged maintenance phase is no longer recommended."...The goal of this article is to summarize the current literature regarding chemotherapy for dogs with high-grade lymphoma and provide recommendations for therapy in a variety of different scenarios.
Top Companion Anim Med. 2009 Aug;24(3):157-62.
Article Lymphoma: which chemotherapy protocol and why?
Chun R. University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered how a stimulatory molecule and a protein found on the membrane of another immune cell make T helper 17 cells protect the body against infection and cancer.
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Researchers at Harvard Medical School have found that by mimicking a rare genetic disorder in a dish, they can rewind the internal clock or a mature cell and drive it back into an adult stem-cell stage. Read article.

Palladia
Newly FDA approved treatment for Patnaik grade II or III recurrent cutaneous mast cell tumors with or without regional lymph node involvement. Developed by Pharmacia & Upjohn Company, a Division of Pfizer, Inc.

Palladia is getting loads of media attention, reaching everyone with an interest in canine cancer. The good news is all over the net, there's no need to fill you in on that. I read the full report and pulled out the cautions for you, below.

Chart below shows number of dogs in each group in the study. Shows how many got Complete Response, Partial Response, Stable Disease, Progressive Disease, and dogs that discontinued (D/C) participation in the study due to adverse events or the owner’s request.
Excerpt from the report:
PHA-291639E has a low margin of safety. Administration of PHA-291639E orally once every other day to Beagle dogs at 0, 2.0, 4.0, and 6.0 mg/kg (0, 0.5, 1, or 1.5 times the clinical dose), for 13 consecutive weeks, caused weight loss, decreased feed consumption, diarrhea, and pancreatic, gonadal, adrenal, muscle-locomotor, and hematopoietic changes including bone marrow suppression. Two dogs at 6 mg/kg were euthanized after 23 and 27 days on treatment with additional signs including progressive anorexia and weakness, lymphoid depletion and gastrointestinal effects. CLICK to see the full report.

	Placebo		Palladia
	# of dogs	%	# of dogs	%
Complete Response (CR)	0	0%	7	8.1%
Partial Response (PR)	5	7.9%	25	29.1%
Stable Disease (SD)	14	22.2%	18	20.9%
Progressive Disease (PD)	40	63.5%	28	32.6%
D/C for Adverse Event1	1	1.6%	3	3.5%
D/C due to owner request2	3	4.8%	5	5.8%
Total	63	100%	86	100%

DNA Vaccine Therapy for Canine Malignant Melanoma
The FDA has granted conditional licensing for the use of a new DNA Vaccine to treat canine malignant melanoma (CMM). This type of canine cancer has a particularly poor prognosis. For information about this vaccine, click above to read the article.

Poly-MVA Quality of Life Study
See what people are saying about Palladium alpha-lipoic acid (antioxidant Poly-MVA for Pets).

"125 Fake Cancer 'Cures' that Consumers Should Avoid."

CLICK to read an article from the FDA.

Soy may help fight cancer in dogs. Read article.

Chemoradiotherapy (chemo plus radiation therapy) treatment for humans with Hodgkins Disease (a form of lymphoma) may cause mesothelioma. Read March 2009 article in National Cancer Institute Bulletin. Dogs don't get Hodgkins disease, they only get the malignant non-Hodgkin lymphoma. However chemo plus radiation therapy is used by some veterinary oncologists to treat dogs with lymphoma. I haven't found any studies regarding mesothelioma in dogs after this treatment but I would like to.

Read article: Human trials in progress for herbal therapy using Boswellia Serrata for brain cancer.

Cancer Screening and Targeted Protocols for U.K. Dogs
Cancer screening and individualized targeted chemotherapy protocols are already available for U.K. pets through PetScreen. This product is making its way into the U.S. market as well.

Radiation Drug Technique in Development for Osteosarcoma
"The results of this study could change the standard of care for bone cancer patients - humans and dogs," said Dr. Nicole Ehrhart, a veterinarian and cancer expert at Colorado State. "While most osteosarcoma patients don't receive radiation treatment, we believe that, when delivered with this method that allows doctors to isolate the dose to the tumor, radiation treatment is very effective. In dogs, we know that using radiation in combination with chemotherapy increases our success over just one or the other treatments used alone."

Magic Bullet Fund Group Policies for Pet Insurance
We encourage all caretakers to have health insurance policies in place for all of their pets. Magic Bullet Fund offers discounted group policies for your pets through several pet insurance companies. Anyone can enroll and receive the discounted rates.

RESEARCH TOOLS

Understanding Blood Work Laboratory Results
Excellent information to help you read your dog's test results

Find foods with specific nutritional content

Dog Food Analysis
Compare contents and ingredients.

Test kidney, bladder and liver functions at home

OTHER RESOURCES
Many web sites offer information about canine cancer diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. Some are hosted by caretakers, sharing the story of their dog's fight against cancer. Some are provided by manufacturers or distributors of various products that claim to fight cancer. And others are provided by academic institutions or veterinary organizations under the supervision of veterinary experts. The web sites below are just a sampling of reliable sources of information on this subject.