When our four-legged friends battle cancer, they often do it using the same medications used to fight cancer in humans. Until this week, human cancer drugs were the only type of cancer drug available to veterinarians.
But now the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Palladia — a drug made specifically for treating cancer in dogs.
Palladia was made to treat cutaneous mast cell tumors — a type of cancer that is to blame for approximately one out of every five cases of skin cancer in dogs. Some of these tumors are small and easily removed; in some dogs, the tumors can be life threatening. This new drug basically kills the tumor by cutting off the blood supply.
Side effects of Palladia include diarrhea, loss of appetite, weight loss, blood in stool, and lameness.
The new canine cancer drug is the work of Pfizer Animal Health Inc. — makers of many pet health products like the pain reliever Rimadyl and Revolution flea and tick preventative.
I am a little surprised that this is the first time the FDA has approved a cancer treatment specifically for dogs — and wonder if there is something similar for cats. Veterinarians are allowed by law to administer human cancer drugs (and other cancer treatments developed for use on humans), but the approval of Palladia gives them a dog-specific option when dealing with cutaneous mast cell tumors.
What other options are there for treating cutaneous mast cell tumors? For Stage I tumors (a solitary tumor confined to the skin and not involving lymph nodes), full removal is usually the best option. But in later stage tumors, treatment can vary. Options include removal of the tumor, use of steroids to reduce inflammation, and use of radiotherapy — or a combination of the three.
The approval of Palladia now offers veterinarians and owners another option for treatment.