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Whole lung irradiation (WLI) has been used successfully in humans as an adjuvant treatment for osteosarcoma. The aim of this study is to describe the feasibility and safety of WLI in dogs with appendicular osteosarcoma. Twelve client-owned dogs with appendicular osteosarcoma that had successfully completed amputation and four doses of carboplatin without evidence of gross metastasis were enrolled in this prospective clinical trial. Ten once-daily fractions of 1.75 Gy were administered to the planning target volume encompassing the lungs. Overall, WLI was well tolerated in these patients. No dogs developed symptoms of pneumonitis or pulmonary fibrosis. Haematopoietic toxicity evaluated during radiation therapy was found to be mild. The median disease free interval for WLI treated dogs was not significantly different than the median DFI for a group of historic control dogs (376 days for WLI treated dogs versus 304.5 days for control dogs; p = 0.5461). Although no significant improvement in outcome was observed with this study, WLI appears to be safe in dogs and warrants further investigation to characterize the efficacy and toxicity., (© 2021 The Authors. Veterinary and Comparative Oncology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: In humans geographical differences in the incidence and presentation of various cancers have been reported. However, much of this information has not been collected in veterinary oncology., Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine if a geographic difference in progression free survival exists for dogs with lymphoma treated within the US., Materials and Methods: Medical records of 775 cases of canine lymphoma from 3 US regions (west, south and north), treated with CHOP chemotherapy, were retrospectively evaluated. Cases were collected from referral institutions and were required to have received at least one doxorubicin treatment and have follow up information regarding time to progression., Results: Significant differences in sex (p = 0.05), weight (p = 0.049), stage (p < 0.001), immunophenotype (p = <0.001), and number of doxorubicin doses (p = 0.001) were seen between regions. Upon univariate analysis, progression free survival (PFS) differed by region (p = 0.006), stage (p = 0.009), sub-stage (p = 0.0005), and immunophenotype (p = 0.001). A multivariable Cox regression model showed that dogs in the western region had a significantly shorter PFS when compared to the south and east., Conclusion: PFS was significantly affected by stage, sub-stage and phenotype., (© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Tumour-initiating cells (TICs) have been identified in many solid human tumours, including malignant melanoma. In this study, an enriched TIC population was identified in two canine malignant melanoma cell lines (CML1 and CML6M) using cell surface markers and functional assays, including the sphere forming assay, aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) assay, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and γH2AX staining for double-stranded DNA (dsDNA)break identification and repair. The CD34(-) population of cells in both cell lines expressed stem cell genes, such as Oct4, Nanog and Ptch1, were more efficient at making spheres in adherence-free media conditions and were able to repair dsDNA breaks faster than the CD34(+) population. A subpopulation of cells with high expression of ALDH was identified in both cell lines by flow cytometry. The findings indicate the presence of TICs in two canine malignant melanoma cell lines., (© 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)