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Studies on Therapy of Osteosarcoma in Dogs Using BCG Vaccine 1
Author(s) -
Owen L. N.,
Bostock D. E.,
Lavelle R. B.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
veterinary radiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.541
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1740-8261
pISSN - 0196-3627
DOI - 10.1111/j.1740-8261.1977.tb01537.x
Subject(s) - medicine , veterinary medicine
One of the most difficult tumors to treat both in canine and human medicine is the osteosarcoma. Attempts to avoid amputation and to cure the tumor by X-irradiation have been unsuccessful in both species. In 17 dogs doses of 4000-5000 R in fractionated doses of 1000 R over a 4 or 5 week period were given to the primary tumor from a 15 MeV linear accelerator giving 120-130 raddminute with 100% penetration a t 3 cm in tissue. Reduction in pain was remarkable but the mean pain-free survival time was only 4 months (1 month to 1 year) (5). Five year survival figures in man following amputation or X-irradiation followed by amputation vary from zero to 20% (4). In the dog the prognosis is equally bad (I). At the time of amputation, performed only if thoracic radiography shows no evidence of lung metastases, micrometastases are almost invariably present and within a few weeks or months euthanasia becomes necessary. The problem of how to kill these relatively few malignant cells already present in the lungs at the time of amputation has been approached along three main lines. Lung X-irradiation with a dose of 600 R on two occasions and a one-week interval has been found to be of no value in the dog (5). In man fractionated doses to the lungs of 150 R to approximately 2000 R produce improved results for 1-2 year survival but by 5 years the results were similar to historical controls (3). Chemotherapy given prophylactically following amputation has produced initially good results in man (9) and trials are in progress in the USA, Great Britain, and elsewhere using particularly doxorubicin and methotrexate. Five-year survival figures are not yet available. No such trials in dogs have yet been reported. Preliminary results using non-specific immunostimulation in dogs amputated for osteosarcoma have been reported (6-8). The rationale for this form of therapy has been described previously. The results for 20 such dogs given intravenous BCG on a number of occasions are now reported. Clinical cases