At the Medical Center for Animals (MCD) in Amsterdam, a dog with cancer has been treated for the first time with a vaccine. It concerns the Malinois Rax, in which an aggressive form of bone cancer was found. His tumor has since been excised and he has received a vaccine against cancer. This is the first time in the Netherlands.
The vaccine was developed in collaboration with the Amsterdam UMC and is now being used for the first time. Animal orthopedic surgeon Roelof Maarschalkerweerd is leading the research in which dogs with this specific bone tumor are treated. “The vaccine triggers an immune response against certain proteins that only occur in tumors. In fact, the dog turns on its own immune system to attack the tumor. But whether it is fully effective is still the question, according to the animal orthodontist.” in evading an attack so that can still happen with Rax.”
“On average you have 70 days to live with a bone tumor if you do nothing”
Previously, dogs with bone cancer were treated with chemotherapy. An advantage of the new vaccine treatment is that there are fewer side effects. The treatment is still in the experimental phase, but the doctors have the feeling that the vaccine is working.
“On average you have seventy days to live with a bone tumor if you do nothing. Then you just die from the metastases. Rax is now more than four months further,” says Maarschalkerweerd.
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In the past twenty years everything has been tried against bone tumors. The hope is that the new technology will allow dogs to live longer. For Rax, it remains to be seen whether the vaccine will continue to work in the long term. In the meantime, he has to come back every two months for an injection.
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