Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Safety of NanoKnife brain tumor treatment in dogs with gliomas
By Rossmeisl, John H et al.·Published in Journal of neurosurgery·2015·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences and.·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Safety and feasibility of the NanoKnife system for irreversible electroporation ablative treatment of canine spontaneous intracranial gliomas.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of seven dogs with brain tumors called gliomas were treated using a new technique called irreversible electroporation (IRE) with the NanoKnife system. Most dogs showed improvement after the treatment, with six out of seven surviving and experiencing better quality of life scores compared to before. While two dogs had serious side effects, including one that developed fatal pneumonia, the majority had successful tumor ablation without significant damage to the brain. The dogs that responded well had a median survival of about 119 days, with some living much longer.
People also search for: dog brain tumor treatment · glioma in dogs · NanoKnife for dog tumors · dog aspiration pneumonia treatment · canine brain cancer survival rate
Abstract
OBJECT: Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a novel nonthermal ablation technique that has been used for the treatment of solid cancers. However, it has not been evaluated for use in brain tumors. Here, the authors report on the safety and feasibility of using the NanoKnife IRE system for the treatment of spontaneous intracranial gliomas in dogs. METHODS: Client-owned dogs with a telencephalic glioma shown on MRI were eligible. Dog-specific treatment plans were generated by using MRI-based tissue segmentation, volumetric meshing, and finite element modeling. After biopsy confirmation of glioma, IRE treatment was delivered stereotactically with the NanoKnife system using pulse parameters and electrode configurations derived from therapeutic plans. The primary end point was an evaluation of safety over the 14 days immediately after treatment. Follow-up was continued for 12 months or until death with serial physical, neurological, laboratory, and MRI examinations. RESULTS: Seven dogs with glioma were treated. The mean age of the dogs was 9.3 ± 1.6 years, and the mean pretreatment tumor volume was 1.9 ± 1.4 cm(3). The median preoperative Karnofsky Performance Scale score was 70 (range 30-75). Severe posttreatment toxicity was observed in 2 of the 7 dogs; one developed fatal (Grade 5) aspiration pneumonia, and the other developed treatment-associated cerebral edema, which resulted in transient neurological deterioration. Results of posttreatment diagnostic imaging, tumor biopsies, and neurological examinations indicated that tumor ablation was achieved without significant direct neurotoxicity in 6 of the 7 dogs. The median 14-day post-IRE Karnofsky Performance Scale score of the 6 dogs that survived to discharge was 80 (range 60-90), and this score was improved over the pretreatment value in every case. Objective tumor responses were seen in 4 (80%) of 5 dogs with quantifiable target lesions. The median survival was 119 days (range 1 to > 940 days). CONCLUSION: With the incorporation of additional therapeutic planning procedures, the NanoKnife system is a novel technology capable of controlled IRE ablation of telencephalic gliomas.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26140483/