What's New in Animal Cancer Detection & Treatment

Everyone has been touched by either their own pet having cancer or a person that you know that has a pet with cancer. Just like in us, cancer is a scary thing and once diagnosed, it can be difficult to decide what to do. In the recent years, there have been some great advancements in both the detection of cancer and the options available for treatment. This article will touch on just a few of those amazing things that are now available.

With regard to cancer detection, the gold standard has always been to submit tissue for biopsy. This must be done surgically, either with sedation or full anesthesia, depending on the size and location of the tumor. This is still the best way to know exactly what kind of cancer you are dealing with and based on that information, predictions can be made on the biological behavior of the tumor to help determine next steps. Getting a needle aspirate of the tumor can give us a good idea of the type of tumor it is and in many cases, can also be useful at guiding us on whether a tumor is benign or malignant. When there is a single growth, this is a simple process. For patients that are covered in many lumps, aspirating each one of them can be a laborious and invasive process.

A new piece of diagnostic equipment, the HTVet, is a non-invasive way of detecting cancer. This painless method which uses a probe that is held over the tumor has a 98% accuracy of detecting whether a tumor is cancerous by measuring thermal signals inside the tissues. It can be used on both tumors on the skin and under the skin. If the tumor tests positive, then we recommend aspirating the tumor to get more information. This procedure takes about 5 minutes per scan so many tumors can be checked easily in one visit. In fact, we recommend when there are many growths to evaluate that we do an appointment to map all the growths and scan them all at one time. This is an absolutely revolutionary piece of equipment, and we are excited to use it to help our patients.

Most of our clients are curious to know if the senior bloodwork we are recommending will help identify cancer in their pet. Unfortunately, these tests are aimed at detecting problems that are occurring in specific organs, however it is not cancer specific. There is a new cancer screening blood test that has just become available that can screen your pet for cancer. This test measures markers called nucleosomes which are elevated in patients with cancer. This test does not tell you exactly what kind of cancer is present and can be falsely elevated in patients with a lot of inflammation. If you get a positive test then your vet will recommend either retesting a later date or exploring where the elevation could be stemming from by doing additional tests.

I personally tested my 2 golden retrievers last month and they were negative! Lastly, I wanted to share a great new treatment available for dogs with cancer made by Torigen. This treatment is a natural treatment that is made using the dog’s own tumor cells that have been retrieved with a biopsy. The tumor cells are made into a vaccine which is similar to how we treat allergies with immunotherapy. The vaccine is given in a series of 3 injections under the skin and is very safe. This treatment allows the body’s own immune system to help fight the cancer. We have been using a similar treatment for melanoma in dogs for years with great success, but that treatment uses a generic melanoma vaccine, not one that is made from the individual dog’s own cells. This treatment can offer hope for those not wanting to do radiation or chemotherapy or can be used in conjunction with those treatments.

Just as in human medicine, veterinary medicine is continuing to make incredible advancements in the fight against cancer. I hope that this article has peaked your interest in our ability to help your pet in ways that are much less invasive, and offer a great level of hope to your families.