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FDA approves cancer treatment for dogs
Texas A&M oncologists give their opinion of the drug
By: Kalee Bumguardner
Issue date: 6/9/09 Section: News
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Until now, cancer drugs used in veterinary medicine were developed for human usage and weren't approved for animals. Federal law allows veterinarians to administer cancer medicines and other human treatments under controlled circumstances.
However, reports of the drug have come too soon and misled pet owners, said Claudia Barton, who is an oncologist at the Texas A&M University Small Animal Sciences Department of the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.
"I think it's wonderful that a company developed a drug just for dogs," Barton said. "The problem is, there is very little data that has been presented yet. It's got a lot of limitations, and the media is probably premature."
The drug, Palladia, manufactured by Pfizer Animal Health Inc., has been approved to treat a type of cancer that accounts for about one in five cases of canine skin tumors.
"[The drug's] principal benefit is for a mast cell tumor, a malignant skin tumor that's very common," Barton said.
Palladia is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that kills tumor cells and cuts off blood supply to the tumor. Common side effects include diarrhea, decrease or loss of appetite, weight loss and lameness.
The drug is not completely reliable, said associate dean for professional programs at the college of veterinary medicine Kenita Rogers, which is true of most kinds of chemotherapy.
A complete response to the drug is when the tumors are not detectable, and a partial response is when the tumors have shrunk at least 50 percent.
Only about 40 percent to 45 percent of the mast cell tumors responded to the treatment at all, which means that more than half had no change, Rogers said.
The drug had sporadic success with other kinds of tumors, including a rare gastrointestinal stromal tumor.
"A lot of these people are going to be spending a lot of money to find out that their dogs didn't respond," Barton said. "That's why we're a little hesitant."
The cost of Palladia has not been released, but expectations are that it is going to be more expensive than current treatments, Barton said.
"It's going to be very expensive," Barton said. "What we're waiting to see is will this be a drug that they're going to sell at a price that people can afford it?"
If it is affordable, Barton said, then people will buy it. Barton said she would buy it for her dogs.
Animals play big roles in pet owners' lives, and would likely be given necessary treatment, said senior history major Catherine Palmer.
"Many people feel that dogs are an extended member of the family, so I think they would go to such lengths," Palmer said.
Palmer said she wouldn't be able to afford the drug. She said it would be tough for her to know her dog had cancer and there was a drug out there that would help, but she couldn't afford it.
"I feel like it could be a burden on some people," Palmer said. "I would feel helpless. I think it is something to be excited about, though, and once the drug becomes more mainstream it will hopefully be more affordable."
The drug will be released in 2010.
Medication
The cancer-fighting drug Palladia is produced by Pfizer Animal Health Inc. and treats mast cell tumors in dogs. The drug works by inhibiting the ability of the cells to proliferate and cutting off blood supply to the tumor. The drug will be released in 2010.
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