[Vision2020] Daily News: Vet college looking for cancerous canines

[Saundra Lund]

Any case any Visionaries have pups who would qualify, or know of anyone with
a dog eligible to participate:

Vet college looking for cancerous canines
Study results could aid in breast cancer research
Kelsey Husky Daily News staff writer

Posted on: Friday, October 08, 2010

The Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine is starting a
clinical trial using the herb artemisinin that could eventually aid in
breast cancer research.

The college is accepting dogs with B-cell lymphoma to participate in the
trial. Lymphoma is the most common blood-related malignancy in dogs, and it
happens when lymphosites, located in lymph nodes, develop cancerous cells
and then circulate the body. 

The same kinds of genes that make canine lymphoma cells resistant to
chemotherapy also make breast cancer cells resistant.

"If we can show that we can knock down the expression of those genes in
dogs, that's really strong evidence that we'll be able to do the same thing
in people," said Jeffrey Bryan, an assistant professor of oncology.

The first signs of lymphoma in a dog are swollen lymph nodes in its neck, in
front of its shoulders, behind its knees or in the groin region.

In order to qualify for the study, dogs must be in Stage 3 or 4 of B-cell
lymphoma (Stage 5 is the most severe). They must be relatively healthy
overall.

"It's important for us that any dog that needs chemotherapy gets
chemotherapy immediately. It's not worth risking their health for this
information," Bryan said.

So far, the study has only one qualifying dog, but Bryan said he knows
they'll find enough.

Care costs for the dogs in the trial are capped at $300, saving owners an
estimated $1,500-$2,500, Bryan said. The college will cover staging costs,
chemotherapy, biopsies, cost of the herb and other care during the trial,
thanks to the Washington State Life Sciences Discovery Fund.

Qualifying dogs will take the trial drug - either a placebo or artemisinin -
for 72 hours and will be receive a biopsy before and after, which will be
sent to the University of Washington. The dogs will receive chemotherapy
once a week for three weeks, all while taking the trial drug.

Artemisinin is derived from the plant Artemisia annua and is used in many
common anti-malarial drugs. It becomes toxic when mixed with high amounts of
iron - something cancer cells have in abundance. Bryan said the herb should
make the cancer cells more sensitive to chemotherapy, making it more
effective.

He said he expects eight or nine dogs taking the herb to go into remission.
If their lymphoma returns, he said he hopes it'll at least take longer than
it would without the herb.

Bryan said chemotherapy treatment for dogs is tailored for their comfort. 

"For people, we're willing to really push the dose to do everything we can
to save human lives," he said. "But in dogs, they can't agree to receive
chemotherapy and risk the side effects." 

He said in 80 percent to 90 percent of trials, the tumor disappears until it
can't be seen anymore and the dog essentially returns to normal. The problem
is that most become resistant to chemotherapy and lymphoma returns later,
which is usually how they die.

He said there are two ultimate goals of the trial.

The college wants to show artemisinin will make lymphoma tumor cells more
susceptible to chemotherapy in ways that can also kill human breast cancer
cells.

The other goal, he said, is to allow dogs to live longer and increase
quality of life on chemotherapy by using the herb. He said they hope to
mass-produce the herb so anyone could buy it for their dogs.

UW will handle the molecular aspects of the trial and will be taking steps
to connect the study with breast cancer research. The WSU Agriculture
Department is learning how to optimally grow artemisinin in Washington.

For information, contact Pam Thompson at (509) 335-0711.

Kelsey Husky can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 237, or by e-mail to
khusky at dnews.com.