Intratumoral injection of holmium-166 microspheres as neoadjuvant therapy of soft tissue sarcomas in dogs.

Introduction: Minimally invasive microbrachytherapy is in development to treat solid tumors by intratumoral injection of (radioactive) holmium-166 (Ho) microspheres (MS). A high local dose can be administered with minimal damage to surrounding tissue because of the short soft tissue penetration depth of Ho beta radiation. We aimed to prospectively evaluate the safety and efficacy of Ho microbrachytherapy in client-owned canine patients with soft tissue sarcomas (STS).

Case Report: Radioactive Holmium-166 Microspheres for the Intratumoral Treatment of a Canine Pituitary Tumor.

In this case study, a client-owned dog with a large pituitary tumor was experimentally treated by intratumoral injection of radioactive holmium-166 microspheres (HoMS), named Ho microbrachytherapy. To our knowledge, this is the first intracranial intratumoral treatment through needle injection of radioactive microspheres. A 10-year-old Jack Russell Terrier was referred to the Clinic for Companion Animal Health (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, The Netherlands) with behavioral changes, restlessness, stiff gait, and compulsive circling.

Nanobody-targeted photodynamic therapy for the treatment of feline oral carcinoma: a step towards translation to the veterinary clinic.

Nanobody-targeted photodynamic therapy (NB-PDT) has been developed as a potent and tumor-selective treatment, using nanobodies (NBs) to deliver a photosensitizer (PS) specifically to cancer cells. Upon local light application, reactive oxygen species are formed and consequent cell death occurs. NB-PDT has preclinically shown evident success and we next aim to treat cats with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), which has very limited therapeutic options and is regarded as a natural model of human head and neck SCC.