The world's first clinical trial of new tumor immunotherapy for pet dogs: bringing breakthroughs to the treatment of children with cancer

The Telethon Children's Institute is leading a unique clinical trial in pet dogs that could pave the way
for a new immunotherapy that targets one of the most common childhood cancers, sarcoma.
The treatment is a polymer-filled gel containing immunotherapy drugs that can be applied inside
surgical wounds when a patient's sarcoma tumor has been removed.
The gel is made of natural polymers that can be broken down
by the body.
Immunotherapy drugs attach to long polymers and are then slowly released
through the body.

Sarcoma, a cancer of the bone and soft tissues, is the third most common cancer in children, and one in three children dies from the disease
.
Joost Leisterhuis, an associate professor and director of the Cancer Center at Telethon Children's Institute, said that the first step for almost all sarcoma patients after diagnosis is to surgically remove the tumor
.
"Surgeons remove as much tissue as possible, but usually some cancer cells are left behind, and then the cancer comes
back.
"

"With immunotherapy gel, surgeons can, as usual, remove the tumor and then apply the gel before suturing the
wound.
Over time, immunotherapy drugs come into play — extracting immune cells from all over the body and activating them at the tumor site, removing any remaining cancer cells
.
"The gel has already shown positive results in laboratory models and now Perth veterinary specialists are using it to treat pet dogs
diagnosed with sarcoma.

"Surprisingly, sarcoma is one of the most common cancers in pet dogs, and it manifests itself in exactly the same way as children with sarcoma, both as lumps in muscle or bone tissue," said Associate Professor Leisterhuis
.
"The treatment is the same – surgery to remove the tumor
.
Normally, just like in children, some cells remain in the body and the cancer comes back
.
”

Dr Wyatt, a veterinary oncologist from Perth Veterinary Specialist Hospital, said 7 dogs had been treated with gel during surgery so far and the results were very positive
.
"Actually, sarcomas are more common
in dogs than in humans," he said.
Sarcomas can be fatal if left uncontrolled or spread to nearby organs
.
”

"So far, there seems to be no problem with the healing of the dogs participating in the trial, and we seem to be getting a good response
from the gel.
" Everyone wins – dogs get treatment they wouldn't otherwise have access to, and they do things that might end up helping children with cancer
.
"This trial gives beloved family dogs access to cutting-edge therapies to treat their cancer, and their owners can know that they have played a role
in helping cancer children access this therapy.
"

The gel was developed in collaboration with molecular scientists at the University of Western Australia and led by Associate Professor Killugudi Swaminatha Iyer
.
Associate Professor Iyer from UWA's School of Molecular Sciences said the gel was made
from natural materials.
"The gel is made of natural long polymers that can be broken down
by the body itself," he said.
"So, in this treatment, the team treated these long polymers with immunotherapy drugs, and then these long polymers slowly release the drug in the body, and the polymer itself is broken down
.
"

Associate Professor Lesterhuis said that progress in sarcoma treatment had been minimal over the past 30 years and that child patients still needed to be exposed to high doses of radiation and chemotherapy
.
"This is a cruel disease, and traditional treatments can have lifelong side effects for children, including learning difficulties, infertility, language and vision problems, and even secondary cancers – the treatment itself can lead to new cancer development
.
"

"Immunotherapy is one of the most exciting advances in cancer treatment, but so far it has not had much success
in sarcoma treatment.
He said
.
"Our dream is that with these immunotherapies, together we can replace chemotherapy and radiation
.
" But at this stage, I think it's a supplement where we can cut back on some chemotherapy or radiation
.
We must do better
for these children and their families.
”