Did you know our beloved Labs are in the top 10 of dog breeds most prone to cancer?
Unfortunately cancer can strike any breed of dog at any age and sadly Labrador retrievers are up there with the ten dog breeds most likely to develop cancer.
The following article reports about an experimental drug helping to prolong their lives considerably.
As every dog owner knows, they’re a part of the family, so when one gets cancer – it’s heartbreaking. But an experimental drug is helping them live longer…and it may be good news for children with cancer as well.
Ten-year-old Harley doesn’t move as fast as he did before he got osteosarcoma – a painful, cancerous tumor that grows in the bones.
Kathy Fatscher, Harley’s owner told Ivanhoe, “It’s just amazing to me what he’s been through and that he’s still our Harley.”
Dogs with osteosarcoma usually only have five months to live, but it hasn’t claimed Harley yet, thanks to a new vaccine.
Nicola Mason, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania told Ivanhoe, “The fact that these dogs are living two, three, four, five times longer than the length they were expected to live is remarkable.”
What’s even more exciting to doctors at Penn Vet is the logical next step, since these treatments work for dogs with cancer. “Then we will be successful at preventing metastatic disease in children, and that is an amazing, amazing thing,” Mason exclaimed.
Because dogs and humans share so many biological similarities, researchers think the vaccine that helped Harley might also help a child with the same cancer. They’re developing a protocol for a clinical trial to present to the FDA.
Originating Content via 7abcNews
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