| Heska has initiated clinical trials designed to assess the ability of a gene-based therapy to cause remission of soft tissue sarcomas and oral melanomas in dogs. In preliminary studies, this therapy has resulted in the shrinkage or elimination of canine tumors, and was well tolerated with only mild side effects. The product being tested in these clinical trials is an intratumor gene therapy. Lipid-formulated genes encoding the immune stimulants Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin A and canine interleukin-2 are administered to the dog’s tumor. The immune stimulants produced in the tumor then initiate or boost the dog’s own immune response to the cancer. The product is intended as an adjunct to surgery, the standard of care for both canine soft tissue sarcoma and canine oral melanoma. Therapy includes up to 6 weekly intratumor injections at the veterinarian’s office, surgical removal of any residual tumor (if necessary), followed by 4 post surgical injections. Patient inclusion criteria include, but are not limited to: - Presence of a tumor that is accessible for injection and potentially removable by surgery.
- No local or distant metastasis detected.
- No concurrent radiation, chemotherapy, holistic therapies, supplement therapy or cancer diets.
These trials are being conducted at multiple clinical sites across the United States. If you have a patient or pet that you believe may benefit from participation in this trial, please click on the appropriate link below for a list of sites and contact a participating site directly. Once contacted the site will discuss the enrollment criteria and treatment in more detail and determine if the patient is eligible. Clinical Sites for Dogs with Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Clinical Sites for Dogs with Oral Melanoma | 
