Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Multimodal treatment helps some cats with head and neck cancer
By Marconato, L et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative oncology·2013·Animal Oncology and Imaging Center·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Multimodal therapeutic approach and interdisciplinary challenge for the treatment of unresectable head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in six cats: a pilot study.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Six cats with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), a type of cancer that is hard to treat, were given a combination of medications, radiation therapy, and surgery. The treatment included drugs like thalidomide, piroxicam, and bleomycin, and was generally well tolerated. Three of the cats were in complete remission and lived for over a year after treatment. Unfortunately, two cats passed away from unrelated issues, but their cancer was in remission at the time. These promising results suggest that this combined approach could be worth exploring further.
People also search for: cat head and neck cancer treatment · feline squamous cell carcinoma prognosis · cat cancer remission treatments
Abstract
Feline head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a loco-regional disease harbouring a poor prognosis. The complex anatomic location precludes aggressive surgical resection and tumours recur within weeks to few months. Response to chemotherapy and local control after radiation therapy has been disappointing. In this study, a multimodal approach including medical treatment (thalidomide, piroxicam and bleomycin), radiation therapy (accelerated, hypofractionated protocol) and surgery was attempted in six cats. Treatment was well tolerated. Three cats with sublingual SCC were alive and in complete remission at data analysis closure after 759, 458 and 362 days. One cat with laryngeal SCC died of renal lymphoma after 51 days and the other with maxillary SCC died of a primary lung tumour 82 days after diagnosis. In both cats, the SCC was in complete remission. Only one cat developed metastases after 144 days. These encouraging preliminary results merit further evaluation in future trials.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22443464/