November is Pet Cancer Awareness Month, and since Atticus has been going through this new trial, I thought I’d try to talk about it as much as I am able because you know, there are a lot of science words that I don’t understand, much less be able to explain!
One of the reasons I chose this month to talk about it a bit more is because this trial for recurring pediatric cancer came from our dog friends who had osteosarcoma! Please keep in mind, these were not “animal trials”, they are pets with osteosarcoma treated by Vet Oncologists and treated as patients.
They say pediatric osteosarcoma is rare - about 1,000 patients in the US per year, but in dogs, it’s much more prevalent - 25,000 patients per year. The treatment for osteosarcoma is limited for both our canine friends and humans, and the treatment/chemo plans for both have not changed in 30 years, nor have there been any improvements with these treatments.
Investigators from Tufts University and TGen discovered that the osteosarcoma genetics in dogs and pediatric patients are similar, and hoped that this discovery could bring about new treatments which, as previously stated, haven’t seen any significant breakthrough in thirty years. 30 YEARS. “Although surgery and chemotherapy can extend survival, about 30% of pediatric OS patients die from metastatic tumors within five years. The cancer moves much faster in dogs, with more than 90% succumbing to metastatic disease within two years.” https://tinyurl.com/2p9f2u25 So, they did some genome sequencing and a bunch of other genes and genome stuff that no matter how many times I read about it I just don’t understand it.
However! They made this immunotherapy (I apologise for always saying chemo, it’s all just kind of bad) that worked really well in dogs with osteosarcoma, and since the genetics of osteosarcoma in doggies and kiddies are similar, they decided to make a trial for this treatment for human children. Of course, there are a million hoops to jump through and get funding, but the Superhero Scientists made that happen.
Pretty cool, right? For humans, they have already completed Phase One. Atticus got into the Phase 2 trial after a year ago (a year? wow) lobes in his lungs were growing and when he had surgery to take them out, sent to pathology, it came back as osteosarcoma (no surprise, but still heartbreaking), which meant he was in his third recurrence. “Luckily” because of the recurrence, he was eligible for the Phase 2 trial which would be going through OHSU Doernbecher.
The treatment involves giving him Listeria, which now involves the immune system that I also can read and kind of understand, but I can’t write a summary of it! So, a nice dose of listeria, then give him an antibiotic drip at the end of the day, and then he takes more antibiotics for the next seven days.
Today, we sit here in the hospital from about 0830 to about 1900 which makes for a long day. Today is also the start of his last cycle, which means this is the first of the final four! It will be 48 weeks when finished. As with the other treatments, they will be monitoring him for the next five years. We hope that this will make a significant change in how pediatric osteosarcoma is treated and even while miserable, Atticus was glad to be a part of this. I was too because you know, the possibility of him dying might be less.
There are a LOT of rules around this trial, as I’m sure most trials do have. He had to sign a bunch of paperwork, about what he is not allowed to do while on treatment. In the hospital too, taking vitals every 30 minutes, rules about how far away the treatments can be, can’t miss by a day, it’s quite something. Usually, I like to pretend it’s not happening and just do what they tell me to do. Sadly, I do know what is happening and it’s scary that even though it will be over in three more infusions, it’s never over. It’s a constant dark cloud floating around taunting us, ready to throw new bricks at our heads.
Also, just wanted to show the press release that came out in 2021:
I did want to bring attention to Ulrike Szalay who started the non-profit Canines-n-Kids; I love their motto “Crushing Cancer at BOTH ends of the leash!”, and an article about partnering with The Black Dog, and some cool stuff they are doing.
Here is an interview with One Health co-founder and CEO Christine Lopes about their mission and future in dog and human cancer treatments, which is interesting and understandable.
Another easy-to-read article summarizing the connection between dogs, kids, and cancers of all kinds, not just osteosarcoma.
And for those of you who love to geek out on the real science, charts, and graphs and genomes and HER2, which apparently is not just for breast cancer, these are for you!
https://tinyurl.com/ywwjrsnm
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26994144/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2835000/
https://aoj.amegroups.com/article/view/5695/html
I want to thank all of the survivors, the kids who passed on, the scientists, doctors, nurses, the dogs, and the other people going through this trial. You are all heroes in my book.
Now that you all have your homework set out for you, go snuggle your dog, or someone else’s, and there will be a test on Monday ;) Also, check out my shop , some pretty cool things to give as gifts, or just to treat yourself as I try to continue to support my family. There is also my boutique right here on my site for merch and other various goodies!