New cancer drug was found to improve survival rates in dogs. Dogs were suffering from a type of cancer called hemangiosarcoma, and the treatment could be applied to humans as well.
The trial, conducted at the University of Minnesota, was funded by Masonic Cancer Center researchers and was published in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics.
Successful Dog Cancer Trial
According to a co-author of the research, the trial is the most significant advance in canine HSA found in the past three years.
Canine HSA is an aggressive and incurable, but common sarcoma, which is extremely similar to the human angiosarcoma. Both forms of the disease are generally known to spread before a diagnosis is issued, and the survival time for patients is currently very short even under the condition of highly aggressive treatment.
Not more than 50 percent of the people diagnosed with this form of cancer survive more than 16 months following the diagnosis, while less than 50 percent of the dogs diagnosed with HSA will survive the following four to six months. Additionally, approximately 10 percent of the dogs will live another year after being diagnosed.
"Sarcomas differ from carcinomas in their mesenchymal origin. Therapeutic advancements have come slowly so alternative drugs and models are urgently needed. These studies report a new drug for sarcomas that simultaneously targets both tumor and tumor neovasculature," noted the research paper.
The trial tested a drug called eBAT, which was created by the senior author of the paper, Daniel Vallera, who is a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
Generally, cancer treatments addressing this form of the disease are very intrusive to patients, and the current trial took this into account. In their research, the scientists aimed at finding the most effective quantity of the drug that would cause the least possible harm to the patient. This approach is both safer and more effective when it comes to the chance of survival and the quality of life, according to one of the lead author of the research.
Canine Cancer Research
The drug was tested on 23 canine subjects belonging to different breeds, both small and large, who were suffering from HSA. The animals were administered three doses of the eBAT medicine after the surgical intervention that removed the tumor and before receiving the conventional chemotherapy treatment.
The treatment was a huge success, as it improved the six-month survival rate to about 70 percent, and five of the 23 canine subjects survived for more than 450 days.
Both the positive results obtained in the canine trial and the similarity with the human form of the disease make this treatment also possible for humans, and researchers suggest that the drug should be further translated to clinical trials for people who suffer from cancer.
Much of the scientists' research preoccupations have been directed toward canine cancer. However, while some of the studies are focused on finding a cure, others are aimed at better understanding the disease. Another research, published in the journal Science in 2014, suggested that canine cancer CTVT is 11,000 years old and that it was transmitted sexually.
