CSU to study limb-sparing techniques for canine cancer victims

Fort Colins, Colo.

- Researchers are investigating new treatment techniques to stave off amputation for dogs with bone cancer.

Colorado State University veterinary researchers will employ Varian Trilogy Linear Accelerator, new state-of-the-art machinery designed to deliver doses of radiation to within 2 millimeters of the tumor site.

The university is seeking dogs with osteosarcoma that may qualify for the study.

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone cancer in dogs (and people). In dogs, the current standard of care for this disease is amputation and chemotherapy, reports Dr. Stewart Ryan, a veterinary researcher CSU's Animal Cancer Center and professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences.

"This is one of the first studies that uses objective measurements of how well dogs use their legs after this sort of treatment," Ryan said. "The results of this study may help prevent amputations in future veterinary patients and would also have a translational aspect to help humans with bone cancer who don't want amputation. It may also have a role in decreasing the number of cycles and intensity of chemotherapy before limb-spare surgery in people, giving them a higher quality of life during the treatments."

When veterinarians are able to perform limb-sparing surgery for dogs, there are often complications that can result in additional surgeries and expense or ultimately end up in amputation, the university reports.

"Now that we have this new equipment, we started to think about how we could develop high-dose radiation therapy as a non-surgical limb salvage treatment and a potential cure," Ryan adds.