Aortic body tumors, specifically chemodectomas, are the second most common type of canine cardiac tumor; however, information about treatment is currently lacking. This study included dogs with a presumptive or definitive diagnosis of an aortic body chemodectoma that underwent treatment with toceranib phosphate. Cases were solicited via the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Cardiology, Internal Medicine, and Oncology listservs using an electronic survey. Cox multivariate analysis of factors potentially impacting survival time was completed. Twenty-seven (27) cases were included in analysis. The clinical benefit rate (complete remission, partial remission, or stable disease >10 weeks) was 89%. A median survival time of 478 days was found for those receiving toceranib alone (n = 14), which was not statistically different from those treated with additional modalities (521 days). No factors evaluated statistically impacted outcome. Further, prospective studies are warranted to evaluate the use of toceranib for the treatment of canine aortic body chemodectomas.

Canine splenic hemangiosarcoma (HSA) is an aggressive tumor with a short overall survival time (OST) despite treatment with splenectomy and adjuvant doxorubicin. Modulation of the immune system has been shown to be effective for a variety of human tumors, and may be effective for canine tumors, including HSA. Immunocidin® is a non-specific immunotherapy based on a mycobacterial cell wall fraction. Preliminary work suggests Immunocidin® is safe to give intravenously (IV) in tumor-bearing dogs. This work aimed to evaluate the safety of doxorubicin and Immunocidin® combination in dogs with naturally occurring splenic HSA. A secondary aim of this study was to collect preliminary efficacy data to support a subsequent comprehensive, prospective clinical trial in canine patients with HSA, if the combination of doxorubicin and Immunocidin® was found to be safe. Eighteen dogs with stage II-III splenic HSA were recruited to receive 5 doses of sequential IV doxorubicin and Immunocidin® at two-week intervals following splenectomy. Adverse events (AEs) were graded according to the Veterinary Cooperative Oncology Group v1.1 (VCOG) scheme. Overall survival time was calculated from the date of splenectomy to date of death or loss to follow-up. AEs during administration were infrequent, the most common being hypertension. One patient developed limb and facial twitching and was removed from the study. After infusion, common AEs included lethargy, hyporexia, and diarrhea. One patient developed VCOG grade 5 diarrhea, thrombocytopenia, and anemia. Modifications in the treatment regimen were made to prevent these signs in subsequent patients. The median OST in dogs treated with the combination therapy was estimated at 147 days (range: 39–668 days). Although generally safe, the combination of doxorubicin and Immunocidin® appeared to cause more gastrointestinal effects than doxorubicin alone, and no apparent improvement in OST was noted in this population of dogs.

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