T-cell therapy boosts survival in canine lymphoma treatment

Researchers from MD Anderson Cancer Center and veterinarians from Texas A & M College of Veterinary Medicine jointly published a study in Scientific Reports showing that a specific T-cell therapy combined with chemotherapy can greatly extend survival in dogs with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The T-cell therapy involves removing peripheral blood from the dogs, separating out the T-cells and cultivating them. In the meantime, the dogs were given combination chemotherapy including cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin and prednisone. The T-cells were then returned to the dogs. When the T-cells were returned, researchers found that they were much more effective at recognizing the tumor as foreign and attacking it. Dogs in the study experienced a near four-fold improvement in tumor-free survival--with the median being close to nine months.

Researchers are enthusiastic that this research can eventually serve as a model in human clinical trials down the road.

Source: Medical News Today