A feasibility study of low‐dose total body irradiation for relapsed canine lymphoma

Abstract

Seven client owned dogs with confirmed relapsed lymphoma were enrolled in a prospective feasibility study investigating the effects of low-dose total body irradiation (LDTBI) delivered in a single 1 Gy fraction. LDTBI for relapsed lymphoma was safe and well tolerated. The only major side-effect of LDTBI was asymptomatic thrombocytopenia in all dogs. The median platelet nadir was 17,000/microL (range 4000-89,000), which occurred a median of 10 days (range 8-30) post irradiation. Three dogs had short-term partial responses, two stable disease and two progressive disease (PD). Six dogs were euthanatized for PD, and one dog died while in partial remission. No dogs had clinical complications. Survival analysis was not performed, because the study design did not allow for evaluation of survival time. Larger studies incorporating LDTBI in the induction/consolidation phase of treatment need to be performed to determine the therapeutic efficacy of LDTBI.

Man's best friend: what can pet dogs teach us about non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma?

“…There are a variety of studies suggesting irradiation may be useful for the treatment of CL . More recently, a few non‐randomized studies suggest the addition of external beam irradiation to a CHOP‐based chemotherapy protocol is safe and, although not curative, may extend the lives of dogs with CL beyond the use of chemotherapy alone.…”

A toxicity study of low‐dose rate half‐body irradiation and chemotherapy in dogs with lymphoma

“…Studies have evaluated the use of radiation alone 6 or in combination with chemotherapy 7,8 and have used either total body irradiation (TBI) with BM transplantation 9,10 or half‐body irradiation (HBI) without BM transplantation 7,8 . WFI has been evaluated as a rescue protocol 11 and as consolidation of induction chemotherapy, 7,9 but the most promising results have been obtained by integrating HBI with induction chemotherapy 8 . Current HBI protocols attempt to modulate toxicity by manipulation of total dose administered, use of split‐dose delivery or varying the inter‐radiation treatment interval and/or eliminating the use of inter‐radiation chemotherapy.…”

Abdominal irradiation as a rescue therapy for feline gastrointestinal lymphoma: A retrospective study of 11 cats (2001–2008)

“…Acute effects reported for dogs receiving half body radiation therapy during induction or in rescue protocols are bone marrow suppression and gastrointestinal (GI) upset. 23,30,31,33,34 In general, the magnitude of bone marrow suppression and GI upset reported was low grade and self-limiting; however, a few cases of life-threatening or fatal thrombocytopenia's were reported. 31,33 The majority of reported bone marrow suppression occurred 1 and 2 weeks after radiation therapy.…”