Ethos Discovery Offers Guidance on Treatment of Splenic Tumors from On-Going, Five-Year Clinical Trial
Hemangiosarcoma is an aggressive cancer in dogs thought to originate in the cells of the blood vessels that can spread to any organ in the body. Veterinary professionals and pet parents alike dread this form of the disease, because it is mostly silent until it presents as an emergency during which a seemingly healthy dog suddenly shows severe signs of disease or collapses.
A cancer that particularly effects older, large dogs, it often presents as abdominal bleeding from a ruptured splenic tumor. Hemangiosarcoma is treated by removal of the spleen followed by chemotherapy, but because pathology takes a week to come back on the removed organ, pet parents are confronted with the decision to operate based upon limited information and veterinary professionals often caution that hemangiosarcoma is, at best, complex to treat, successful outcomes are not ideal, and treatment is costly. Many pet parents, therefore, decide to euthanize their pet.
New evidence from Ethos Discovery’s on-going, nationwide clinical trial, based upon enrollment of 200+ dogs with splenic tumors, with a goal of 400+ dogs enrolled, has revised guidance on the approach to splenic tumors. The research, which was not funded by Animal Cancer Foundation, is focused on discovery of new genomic treatments for hemangiosarcoma, but early results have uncovered information that pet parents and veterinary professionals can use as a guide in treating ruptured splenic tumors, many of which are ultimately benign at much higher rates than previously known:
- Contrary to prior information, 40-50% of splenic tumors are benign, even in older, larger dogs, meaning removal of the spleen in these cases is curative.
- Splenectomy no longer carries the high surgical risk it once did.
- 96% of these older, large breed dogs walked out of the hospital less than 40 hours after surgery.
According to Ethos Discovery’s blog report by Dr. Chand Khanna, “Although Hemangiosarcoma remains a formidable cancer, certain subsets identified by our clinical team have surprisingly favorable outcomes.” The conclusion of the research team is that euthanasia should be counseled less than it currently is.
The researchers’ short-term goal is to enroll every dog with hemoabdomen secondary to a splenic tumor in clinical trials to further enhance evidence that leads to revised guidance for pet parents. The long-term, overall goal of this large clinical trial is to focus on improving treatment and discovering new genomic treatment to improve outcomes, extending dogs’ quality of life and longevity after diagnosis.