Cancer clinical trial may make a difference for pets

Cancer clinical trial may make a difference for pets (Image 1) (Copyright by WSLS - All rights reserved)

BLACKSBURG (WSLS) - A new clinical trial aims to help treat cancer in a unique way, but the medicine isn't for people -- it's for dogs.

Dr. Michael Friedlander and his wife Sandra enrolled their 12-year-old Labradoodle Grayton in a Virginia Maryland Regional Veterinary Medicine clinical trial. They're hoping the treatment that uses flakes of gold could keep Grayton's cancer under control.

The Friedlanders' dog developed a tumor in his nose a few years ago and went through a very specialized treatment at the University of Florida.  That treatment can only be used once, so when the cancer returned the Friedlander's were excited to hear about the research being done in Blacksburg.

Dr. Friedlander explains, "The Virginia Tech Vet School hired two veterinary oncologists,  Dr. Shawna Klahn and Dr. Nick Dervisis, who are wonderful, and they became engaged with a new clinical trial using nano particles to treat cancer in dogs. I met with them we talked abut Grayton's case."

Grayton was the first patient in the new clinical trial. According to the doctors, tests using gold nanoparticles with targeted laser treatments have been done on human patients with some success, but the treatment is still new to both human and veterinary medicine.

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To learn more about Grayton's treatments and the clinical trial, read the article on Virginia Tech's website.