New leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans

A drug now being studied in human trials to kill cancerous tumors, is already approved and helping animals.

Its Australian manufacturer has seen great success treating dogs with mast cell tumors.
one of the beneficiaries is a dog from the Cape Coral Animal Shelter and Veterinary Clinic.

Shandy is a middle-aged, mixed-breed dog. And like many of us, she’s a cancer survivor.

“Many shelters wouldn’t have the resources to save a dog like Shandy,” the shelter’s executive director Liz McCauley told WINK News health and medical reporter Amy Oshier. “That’s why it’s fortunate that we are here.”

Shelter veterinarian Kathy Vatthyam examined the dog’s tumor. “We were able to take a few cells and look them under the microscope and determine that it was a mast cell tumor, and just the location of it made it a very difficult spot to do surgery.”

Mast cell tumors can be malignant- as was the case with Shandy’s mass. The cancer is also prone to spreading.

The problem was, her tumor was hard to reach. “Another option would have been to remove the arm, so she was spared having that drastic of a surgery,” said Dr. Vatthyam.

The dog’s limb was spared because the shelter found an Australian company called Virbac, had an approved drug sold as Stelfonta. it does wonders against mast cell tumors in dogs.

“You actually inject into the tumor and it kills the cells right there on the site.”

In about a week, the tumor simply fell off. All that’s left is a tiny scar on Shandy’s leg where new skin is growing in. “It was very easy, with minimal pain and very minimal downtime,” said Dr. Vatthyam.

The medical name of the drug is Tigilanol Tiglate. WINK News found it is currently being studied in humans for cancer treatment.

“A lot of our drugs are started in the human realm, and we kind of reap the benefits of their studies, but this may be one of the opposite things, where they may reap some of our studies.”

In dogs, mast cell tumors rarely come back. This means that Shandy is in ship shape and ready for a new home.

“She loves people, and we know the right family is out there for her somewhere,” McCauley said.

A miracle dog, Shandy is enjoying her new ‘leash’ on life.

If you are interested, Shandy is cleared for adoption at the Cape Coral Animal Shelter. They say she is great with people but doesn’t get along well with other dogs or cats.

The drug compound Tigilanol Tiglate comes from a plant that grows only in a rainforest in Australia. Other research is underway to determine whether a synthetic version can be made.

For more information on the Cape Coral Animal Shelter, click here.