Cancer in dogs
Treatment options vary and depend on the type and stage of cancer. Common treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, amputation, and immunotherapy. A combination of therapies may be used. Knowledge and treatment of cancer have increased significantly in the past three decades. Survival rates have also increased due to the increase prevalence of canine cancer treatment centers and breakthroughs in targeted drug development. Canine cancer treatment has become an accepted clinical practice and access to treatment for owners has widely expanded recently. Cancer-targeting drugs most commonly function to inhibit excessive cell proliferation by attacking the replicating cells. However, there is still a prevalent pharmacy gap in veterinary oncology.
Autologous immune enhancement therapy
Though the concept of this treatment started in the US in 1980s, full-fledged clinical treatments on a routine basis have been in practice in Japan since 1990. Randomized controlled studies in different cancers with significant increase in survival and disease free period have been reported.
In India immunotherapy has shown positive results in patients with advanced cancer including acute myeloid leukaemia, pancreatic cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, Breast Cancer and Philadelphia chromosome Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
Auto-Immune diseases like the Auto-Immune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA) have been known to be associated with malignancies. In general lower Natural Killer (NK) profile has been associated with development of cancers by earlier studies. Recently an article has been published in which it has been described that the in vitro expansion of NK cells is decreased in cancer patients who have concomitant Auto-immune Diseases like the AIHA. This study also throws questions on whether AIHA is a complication of malignancies, due to the lower NK cell profile in cancer which would have given rise to the AIHA due to some common antibody between NK cells and Red Blood Cells (RBCs) or whether the AIHA lowers the NK cell profile which in turn causes the cancer. This warrants further investigations into the identification of common antibodies between NK cells & RBCs and also finding new Immuno- therapeutic strategies which can tackle both cancer and auto-immunity