Total skin electron therapy technique for the canine patient.

Cutaneous epitheliotropic T-cell lymphoma in canine patients is a radiation sensitive tumor but total skin electron therapy is used only rarely. Our purpose was to evaluate dose distribution from a total skin electron therapy technique using 6MeV electron beams. The treatment was comprised of 12 fields, with the dog in lateral recumbency in a stride position at an extended distance from the source.

Chemotherapy followed by abdominal cavity irradiation for feline lymphoblastic lymphoma.

Combination chemotherapy is standard care for feline lymphoma, although clinically relevant improvements in remission duration are unlikely to result from manipulations of chemotherapy agents alone. Lymphopoietic tissues generally are sensitive to radiation, and support for chemoradiotherapy as a treatment for lymphoma is found in both humans and dogs. The goal of this prospective pilot study was to determine the normal tissue tolerance to 15 Gy total abdomen fractionated radiation therapy following induction chemotherapy in cats with lymphoblastic lymphoma.

Effect of wetness level on the suitability of wet gauze as a substitute for Superflab as a bolus material for use with 6 mv photons.

Despite the availability of commercial tissue equivalent bolus material, wet gauze has an application in radiation therapy to provide superior conformance to irregular contours. Wet gauze bolus has the potential to reduce air gaps between the bolus and surface, which could decrease surface dose if sufficiently large to disrupt electronic equilibrium. Wet gauze bolus is often fabricated and wetness judged qualitatively.

Characterization of normal tissue complications in 51 dogs undergoing definitive pelvic region irradiation.

Our objective was to further characterize the late normal tissue complications developing after definitive irradiation of pelvic region tumors in dogs, and to search for prognostic factors. The medical records of dogs receiving definitive irradiation of the pelvic region between 1987 and 2005 were reviewed. The following criteria were established for inclusion: total dose > or =45 Gy, a portion of colon in the primary field, and a minimum of 6 months follow-up.

A phase I trial of hyperthermia-induced interleukin-12 gene therapy in spontaneously arising feline soft tissue sarcomas.

Interleukin-12 (IL-12), a proinflammatory cytokine, shows anticancer properties. Systemically administered IL-12 causes dose-dependent toxicity. To achieve localized intratumoral gene expression, an adenoviral gene therapy vector with IL-12 controlled by a heat-inducible promoter (heat shock promoter 70B) was developed and tested in a phase I clinical trial in cats with spontaneously arising soft tissue sarcoma.

Phase I trial of doxorubicin-containing low temperature sensitive liposomes in spontaneous canine tumors.

Purpose: To determine the maximum tolerated dose, dose-limiting toxicities, and pharmacokinetic characteristics of doxorubicin encapsulated in a low temperature sensitive liposome (LTSL) when given concurrently with local hyperthermia to canine solid tumors.

Experimental Design: Privately owned dogs with solid tumors (carcinomas or sarcomas) were treated. The tumors did not involve bone and were located at sites amenable to local hyperthermia.

Thermal dose is related to duration of local control in canine sarcomas treated with thermoradiotherapy.

Purpose: To test that prospective delivery of higher thermal dose is associated with longer tumor control duration.

Experimental Design: 122 dogs with a heatable soft tissue sarcoma were randomized to receive a low (2-5 CEM43 degrees CT90) or high (20-50 CEM43 degrees CT90) thermal dose in combination with radiotherapy. Most dogs (90%) received four to six hyperthermia treatments over 5 weeks.

Use of photon fields with noncoincident isocenters to improve homogeneity of dose distribution.

To compare changes in dose distribution in irregularly shaped volumes treated using fields with noncoincident isocenters compared with fields with coincident isocenters. The hypothesis was that use of fields with noncoincident isocenters would result in improved homogeneity of dose distribution. We chose to test the hypothesis in canine nasal tumors because of the increased dorsoventral thickness of the caudal compared with the rostral nasal cavity.