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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

DNA vaccine treatment after surgery for dogs with oral malignant

By Camerino, Mariateresa et al.·Published in The veterinary quarterly·2025·AniCura Animal Oncology and Imaging Center·View original on PubMed

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Original publication title: Clinical evaluation of HuDo-CSPG4 DNA electroporation as adjuvant treatment for canine oral malignant melanoma: comparison of two vaccination protocols.

Species:
dog

Plain-English summary

A group of dogs with oral malignant melanoma (a serious type of mouth cancer) underwent surgery and then received a special DNA vaccine called HuDo-CSPG4 to help boost their immune response. The dogs were divided into two groups based on how often they received the vaccine after surgery. Those who got the vaccine lived longer than dogs that only had surgery, showing that the vaccine can be an effective treatment. The second vaccination schedule, which required fewer doses, worked just as well as the first, making it a promising option for future treatments.

People also search for: dog oral melanoma treatment · canine cancer vaccine · dog surgery recovery time · HuDo-CSPG4 vaccine for dogs

Abstract

Canine oral malignant melanoma (OMM) is an aggressive, spontaneously occurring tumor carrying a poor to guarded prognosis and relatively limited therapeutic strategies. In this landscape, chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG)4 represents a promising immunotherapeutic target. The objective of this bi-center prospective study was to examine the clinical outcome of OMM-bearing dogs treated with surgery and adjuvant electroporation using a DNA vaccine (HuDo-CSPG4) encoding both human (Hu) and canine (Do) portions of CSPG4 through two different vaccination protocols. Dogs with stage I-III surgically resected CSPG4-positive OMM underwent HuDo-CSPG4 plasmid electroporation starting at the 3-4post-operative week; electrovaccination was repeated after 2 weeks. In protocol 1, electrovaccination was then delivered monthly while in protocol 2, electrovaccination was performed monthly four additional times followed by semestral boosters. The survival rates of HuDo-CSPG4-vaccinated dogs were estimated and compared with a control group treated with surgery alone. Significantly longer overall survival times were observed in HuDo-CSPG4 vaccinated dogs as compared with non-vaccinated controls. Dogs receiving protocol 2 showed similar outcomes to those of dogs undergoing protocol 1, despite fewer vaccinations. The comparable humoral response against CSPG4 resulting from the administration of protocol 1 and 2 appears to have similar clinical relevance, highlighting protocol 2 as the optimal vaccination schedule.

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Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40059815/