Developing a New Treatment for Canine Lymphoma

To develop a drug similar to Rituximab that works on canine lymphoma patients.

Blood cell lymphomas affect about 30 dogs in every 100,000. Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a common type affecting dogs and is similar to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in humans. Current treatment induces remission in about 75 percent of patients but the majority relapse and the lymphoma is drug resistant within six to nine months of diagnosis.

In human medicine a drug called Rituximab is used to treat various types of lymphoma. The researchers in this study will work to develop a drug similar to Rituximab that works on canine lymphoma patients.

The results of this work could lead to the development of the first targeted treatment of canine B cell lymphoma and may significantly improve the outcome for dogs with B cell lymphomas.

Co-sponsored with the Morris Animal Foundation, Grant Number: D12CA-026

RESEARCHERS

Nicola Mason, BVetMed, PhD, DACVIM
University of Pennsylvania