Background Information
Examples of Cancer Treatments and Products Developed at Colorado State University
Limb-sparing technique for bone cancer patients
Dr. Stephen Withrow, director of the Animal Cancer Center and director of the Cancer Supercluster at Colorado State University, developed a limb-sparing surgical technique to treat osteosarcoma, a malignant bone tumor, in dogs. The surgery involves removing the section of tumor affected bone and replacing it either with cadaver bone or with an implant. This technique is offered as a surgical treatment option instead of amputation for some patients with bone cancer of a limb. This technique revolutionized treatment of this disease in dogs and has been widely adopted to treat human cancer, significantly increasing the likelihood that children diagnosed with osteosarcoma will be cured.
Feline leukemia vaccine
Developed by a Colorado State University veterinarian in collaboration with Harvard researchers, this vaccine is primarily responsible for nearly eradicating the once common disease in cats. The vaccine is made through molecular cloning of a feline leukemia virus, called FeLV. In cats, most instances of leukemia are caused by infection with FeLV. The vaccine, which does not contain the live virus, was tested as a prototype in cats at the university and results were published in 1990. The university’s researcher on the project, Dr. Ed Hoover, a University Distinguished Professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, had worked on FeLV for more 20 years before the successful vaccine was developed.
Today, the patented and licensed vaccine is available through Fort Dodge Animal Health (a division of the pharmaceutical company Wyeth) under the trade name Fel-O-Vax. It is the most widely administered FeLV vaccine in the world. Millions of doses have been given to millions of cats worldwide to prevent FeLV infection and leukemia.
The Colorado State University-developed vaccine was the first vaccine to prevent a cancer caused by a retrovirus. Retroviruses are a family of viruses that include HIV, the mouse and chicken leukemia viruses and the human T-cell leukemia virus.
In large part due to vaccination, leukemia is now rare in pet cats. However, leukemia still persists at lower level worldwide because many cats, particularly feral populations, are not vaccinated against FeLV.
Promising drug combinations
The Colorado State University Animal Cancer Center is currently studying a promising combination of a new and an old cancer drug that may increase chemotherapy effectiveness without increasing unwanted side effects. The study may eventually be useful for the treatment of both human and animal cancer. The center is combining a common chemotherapy drug, called doxorubicin or Adriamycin, with valproic acid, also called Depakote, a drug that previously has been used to treat seizures in dogs and humans. An enzyme called histone deacetylase, which may reduce the sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapy, can be inhibited with valproic acid. Combining these drugs may make chemotherapy more effective. Both of these drugs are available in generic forms and are widely available, making them affordable for humans and animals. The current study will help identify the optimal dose of valproic acid for use in dogs, and may lead to providing these drugs as a viable, affordable option for pets and humans facing bone cancer treatment choices.
Improved radiation drug delivery
Colorado State University researchers have developed a way to deliver intravenous radiation drugs to bone cancer patients without causing damage to other healthy cells and vital organs, drastically reducing illness and other common side effects of toxic radiation treatments. The technique also allows doctors to deliver radiation in only one dose - as opposed to the standard of three to six - and in a higher, more effective concentration.