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To date, we have completed 3 allogenic stem cell transplants for dogs
with lymphoma: Comet, Bailey, and Annabelle. Comet is now three years
since his original diagnosis and continues to be disease free. Bailey,
our second transplant patient, has recently relapsed with lymphoma (B
cell) 6 months since the transplant. Her donor provided a donor
lymphocyte infusion to try to boost her
immune system against the tumor cells--the outcome of this procedure is
still pending. Even though she has relapsed, she continues to feel well
and is alert and active. Annabelle, our third transplant patient, is
doing very well, and is 6 months since the transplant procedure. Both
Bailey and Annabelle are approaching two years since the original
diagnosis of lymphoma.
We now have all of the components in place to routinely complete the
transplant procedures. The protocols we use are regularly used for
people--we have modified them for use in dogs with naturally occurring
disease. We have also been sharing our knowledge with Washington
State University and Texas A and M University to help them provide
transplants for their patients.
On the leukemia front, last summer we identified a dog, Gunner, with
acute myelogenous leukemia and completed a trial of LCI, the
parthenolide derivative made by Leuchemix. Gunner died of progression
of the disease, however before he died significant demonstration of
effectiveness of the drug against the leukemia cells was found.
We
hope to continue this investigation.
Best wishes to you during this Holiday Season,
Edmund Sullivan, DVM
Bellingham, WA
360-220-6083 |
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Hello everyone.
I have been asked to pass on this very important information.
Dr. Edmund Sullivan, who you may recall, is the wonderful vet from
Bellingham Veterinary Critical Care, who did Comet's bone marrow
transplant, is now working with a company called Leuchemix, that is
developing a new drug to treat acute myeloid and acute lymphoblastic
leukemia, two conditions that are often rapidly fatal.
In order to test the in vitro effectiveness of the drug being developed by Leuchemix, Dr. Sullivan
and his team, need fresh whole blood or marrow samples from dogs with
either of these conditions.
If in vitro effectiveness can be established, then a clinical trial will
be set up for dogs with these conditions.
If anyone has questions about this in vitro study, they can contact Dr.
Sullivan at the email address or phone numbers listed below.
Edmund Sullivan, DVM
Bellingham Veterinary
720 Virginia St
Bellingham WA 98225
360-734-0720
360-220-6083
bvcc720@yahoo.com
Thank you very much for your help. Together, we can make a difference,
and take a bite out of canine cancer.
You are welcome to cross post this information, and updates will be
posted on Blues' web site, at www.smilingblueskies.com, in Dr.
Sullivan's special section.
You are also welcome to contact Dr. Sullivan directly. |
Wednesday, April 6, 2005
What price a pet's life? $45,000 to treat Comet
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Here is an Update on
Comet's Progress, 21 Months Since His Original Diagnosis,
and 15 Months Since
his Bone Marrow Transplant
Comet has been doing
very well and is currently off all medications related to
his transplant. He has no signs of graft versus host disease, is
apparently free of lymphoma, and has sustained engraftment. He runs
five miles every day with his owner and other Golden Retriever
companion, Ajax. This month is 21 months since his original
diagnosis and 15 months since his transplant.
Dr. Westfall and Dr.
Sullivan, continue working towards providing transplants for
additional patients, and they have 8 patients with lymphoma being
staged for both allogenic and autologous transplants. Currently,
the cost for an autologous transplant is expected to be around $12K
US and an allogenic transplant between $18-20K depending upon the
size of the dog, the number of matching studies, and the length of
hospitalization. The doctors hope that these costs will continue to
decline as they learn more and streamline the process. With an
autologous transplant they expect to have long term disease free
periods in 30% of these patients. With allogenic transplants with
matching DLA donors (sibling donors), they expect up to 60% long
term disease free periods. These numbers are estimates based
upon the results of autologous transplants done 25 years ago
adjusted for improvements in chemo protocols and supportive care
post transplant.
It is important that
staging for the transplants be started as soon after the initial
diagnosis as possible since autologous transplants are best done in
the first remission. Also, the use of Neupogen and un-irradiated
blood products before the transplant can interfere with mobilization
and engraftment.
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"Comet is like many Golden Retrievers: gentle, devoted,
enthusiastically greeting each day wih his wagging, plumed
tail. He loves to swim, run in the woods and pack around his
large toy hamburger.
But Comet is different. He's one of very few dogs worldwide
to receive a stem-cell transplant for cancer treatment,
rather than primarily for research. Cost of the therapy:
$45,000.
Visit the following link, to read more about the miraculous
story of Comet, the Golden Retriever, written by Warren
King, Seattle Times Medical Reporter. (Permission has been
granted by the Seattle Times, to post this link.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002232414_dogtransplant06m.html
Drs. Edmund Sullivan and Theresa Westfall,
Veterinarians at Bellingham Veterinary & Critical Care
Bellingham, Washington
Drs. Edmund Sullivan and Theresa Westfall, veterinarians at
Bellingham Veterinary & Critical Care, located in
Bellingham, Washington, have been extraordinary at "pushing
the envelope", trying to get treatment for desperately sick
animals. They have been working with the researchers at the
Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, located in Seattle,
Washington, a world renowned facility for cancer treatment.
People come from all over the world, to be treated at FHCRC.
You can visit the centre on line, at
http://www.fhcrc.org/
Many of you may be familiar with the FHCRC, because of the
work they have been doing to "develop the resources
necessary to map and clone canine genes, in an effort to
utilize dogs as a model system for genetics and cancer
research. The Dog Genome Project is moving from the FHCRC to
the National Human Genome Research Institute, which is part
of the National Institutes of Health, located in Bethesda,
Maryland. The project will change its name to the NHGRI Dog
Genome Project, and will be found on the web at
http://research.nhgri.nih.gov/dog_genome/.
About a year ago, Drs. Sullivan and Westfall and the team at
the FHCRC did a bone marrow transplant on a young Golden
Retriever from San Juan Island named Comet, who was
suffering from T-Cell lymphoma. This was not an experimental
treatment, in the sense that most of the bone marrow
transplant knowledge for humans, has been gained through
work with dogs. However, this was one of the few times, at
least in the United States, that a pet had been given a bone
marrow transplant for lymphoma. Comet is alive and well, and
accompanies his people on a 5 mile run every day. Comet's
"one year anniversary" is coming up in a couple of weeks!
The following, is an excerpt from an email, that was just
shared with a group of Golden Retriever fanciers and
breeders:
"We are currently treating cases of high grade lymphoma (any
subtype is fair game, T Cell, B Cell, lymphoblastic, etc.)
and leukemia. These two groups are known to respond well to
bone marrow transplants--there are literally thousands of
people who have been treated. Comet is evidence that current
knowledge is out there and potentially can be adapted to
treat some of these common forms of cancer in dogs." (Thanks
to Nancy Clifton)
If you have a dog with lymphoma, or know of one, they may be
eligible for this treatment . This is a fantastic
breakthrough. We have all done our homework, and we all know
that there is much more homework to be done, but this opens
the window of hope even further, for our beloved heart dogs.
Contact Information:
Edmund Sullivan, DVM
Theresa Westfall, DVM
Bellingham Veterinary & Critical Care
720 Virginia Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
360-734-0720
360-752-5555 fax
bvcc720@yahoo.com
http://www.skagitvalleyherald.com/articles/2004/04/12/news/news06.txt
You or your veterinarian can call Bellingham Veterinary and
Critical Care, at
360-734-0720. They are located at 720 Virginia Street,
Bellingham, WA, USA, 98225. |
