Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Imatinib drug boosts chemo response in feline vaccine sarcoma
By Katayama, Rieko et al.·Published in Cancer chemotherapy and pharmacology·2004·Department of Medical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Imatinib mesylate inhibits platelet-derived growth factor activity and increases chemosensitivity in feline vaccine-associated sarcoma.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A cat with a vaccine-associated sarcoma, a type of aggressive tumor that can develop at vaccination sites, was treated with a medication called imatinib mesylate. This drug works by blocking certain signals that help the tumor grow. In tests, imatinib not only slowed down the growth of these tumors but also made them more sensitive to chemotherapy drugs like doxorubicin and carboplatin. While the study was conducted in a lab setting, the findings suggest that imatinib could be a promising treatment option for cats with this type of cancer.
People also search for: cat vaccine-associated sarcoma treatment · imatinib for feline cancer · doxorubicin for cat tumors
Abstract
Feline vaccine-associated sarcoma (VAS) is a biologically aggressive soft-tissue sarcoma that can develop at sites where inactivated feline vaccines have been administered. We showed that platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and its receptor (PDGFR) play a role in the growth of VAS cells. The presence of PDGFR-beta was confirmed in each of five VAS cell lines evaluated, one non-vaccine-associated feline fibrosarcoma (FSA) cell line and a feline fibroblast-derived cell line. The PDGF/PDGFR signaling pathway was inhibited in the VAS cell lines and the FSA cell line using the tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib mesylate (formerly called STI-571). Imatinib inhibited PDGF-BB-induced autophosphorylation of PDGFR in VAS cells and feline FSA cells in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. Imatinib also significantly inhibited growth of feline VAS tumors in a murine xenograft model. Imatinib reversed the protective effect of PDGF-BB on growth inhibition by doxorubicin and carboplatin. PDGF-BB protected VAS cells from serum starvation and doxorubicin-induced apoptosis but not carboplatin-induced apoptosis, and imatinib eliminated this protection. These observations suggest that imatinib inhibits PDGFR tyrosine kinase activity in feline soft tissue sarcomas in vitro and inhibits tumor growth in a xenograft model.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15108021/