The researchers report the results of the first clinical trial of a new class of targeted therapy in pet cats with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
The study found that 35% of cats treated control the disease with minimal side effects, and the drug is also effective in humans with head and neck cancer.
Daniel Johnson and Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, San Francisco explained:
“We have also demonstrated that pets with head and neck cancer are an appropriate representation of human disease and that clinical trials of pets can produce more reliable results than tests in mouse models.”
First clinical trial
Initially conceptualized to treat head and neck cancer in humans, the drug is the first to target transcription factors statistics. STAT3 exists in both solid and liquid tumor ranges, including the majority of HNSCC cases.
The idea of testing HNSCC medications in pet cats came from the discussion of the first author that Jennifer Grandis had with her veterinarian sister.
Grandis learned that oral cancer, such as HNSCC in pet cats, is extremely difficult to treat, and that most animals die within two to three months of diagnosis.
“There are significant clinical, histopathological and immunological similarities between cats and human HNSCCs,” the authors said.
Case Study: How Pet Cats Benefit from the Exam
One of the cats who benefited from the trial was a nine-year-old black man named Jak domestic short hair. When he was diagnosed with HNSCC, the vet only lived to him for 6-8 weeks.
Jack’s owner Tina Thomas said: “We wanted more time with him. When I learned of this clinical trial, I wanted him to be a part of it.”
Jak was treated every week for a month. During that time, his symptoms, mostly watery eyes, had improved significantly. He eventually lived more than eight months after diagnosis.
“He was here in our lives, so that meant to us,” says Thomas. “In the meantime, my son graduated from university and my daughter completed her master’s program. Jack was able to spend another Christmas with us and he loved our Christmas tree. He was worth every effort.”
Targeted therapy showed limited side effects
Apart from mild anemia, none of the cats under the trial developed side effects caused by treatment.
Of the 20 registered cats, seven showed either partial response or stable disease during the study period. Of the seven respondents, the mean survival time after treatment was 161 days.
When researchers looked at tumors and blood samples from cats treated, they observed that the compounds worked in two ways. Not only did it block the activity of STAT3, it also blocked increased levels of PD-1, a protein associated with the immune response to cancer.
The future of clinical trials with pets
“This study is a great example of how we can think more carefully about spending very limited resources on research in lab mice, not even the best model of human cancer,” Grandis said.
“We partner with veterinarians and conduct clinical trials on companion animals, and we can learn a huge amount of things about how these drugs work, and help people’s pets. The cats in these tests were never hurt, and many cats benefited.”
Researchers suggest that conducting clinical trials in pets can provide a more accurate model of how drugs work in humans compared to lab mice.
They are currently working with small biotech companies to advance new compounds in clinical trials for both pets and humans.
Johnson said, “These animals breathe the same air we breathe, and are exposed to everything we are exposed to. Their tumors are much more heterogeneous, which makes them better mimic human disease.”
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