From OncoLog, March 2012, Vol. 57, No. 3
In Brief
T Cell Therapy Prolongs Survival in Dogs With Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
T
cell therapy given after the completion of standard chemotherapy has
been found to prolong both overall and disease-free survival in dogs
with advanced non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
In a veterinary trial conducted by researchers at The University of
Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Texas A&M University College of
Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, eight dogs with
advanced-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma were infused with autologous T
cells after receiving the standard 19-week chemotherapy regimen of
cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and prednisone (CHOP). The
T cells were derived from peripheral blood taken from each dog at the
time of trial enrollment.
| “We learned important details about the interaction between chemotherapy and tumor cells. |
| – Dr. Colleen O'Connor |
While the dogs received chemotherapy at Texas A&M, their T cells
were separated and expanded at MD Anderson using methods that are used
to grow human T cells. The dogs were all pets whose owners wanted them
to receive cancer treatment and enrolled them in the trial.
The survival data of the dogs in the trial were compared with matched
historical data from dogs with non-Hodgkin lymphoma that had been
treated with CHOP only. The median overall survival from the time of
initial diagnosis was significantly longer in the dogs that received
CHOP plus T cell therapy (392 days; range, 277–458 days) than in the
dogs that received CHOP only (167 days; range, 68–413 days).
Furthermore, the median disease-free survival from the time complete
remission was achieved was significantly longer in the dogs that
received CHOP plus T cell therapy (338 days; range, 104–369 days) than
in the dogs that received CHOP only (71 days; range, 23–293 days).
The T cell treatment was well tolerated, with only one dog experiencing
grade III adverse events (nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea).
“In addition to improving the dogs’ health and quality of life,
treating dogs with cancer provides us with a great comparative oncology
model for humans,” said Colleen O’Connor, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow
in the Department of Experimental Pediatrics at MD Anderson and lead
author of the study’s report, which was published in February in
Scientific Reports. “We learned important details about the interaction
between chemotherapy and tumor cells that can be harnessed to improve
the body’s immune response. This is something we hadn’t appreciated
thus far from our clinical research in humans.”
For more information, talk to your physician, visit www.mdanderson.org, or call askMDAnderson at 877-632-6789.
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