Idiopathic Issues

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The Use of Immunotherapy in Veterinary Oncology

Posted by Cathy Barnette on June 14, 2021 at 12:20 PM

Traditionally, we’ve had three options to defeat cancer in veterinary patients: surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. In recent years, however, we have begun to do more research into a fourth option: immunotherapy. 

When we think of the immune system, we typically think about its ability to recognize and eliminate infectious disease. In reality, however, the immune system can serve the same role in recognizing and eliminating cancer.

Unfortunately, the process of recognizing and eliminating a tumor is much less straightforward than the process involved in recognizing and eliminating a bacterial infection. Tumors have a number of methods for evading the host immune responses, including the production of immunosuppressive cytokines and the alteration of dendritic cell maturation/functions.

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Topics: Oncology, Immunotherapy

When a Veterinary Oncologist’s Work Really Hits Home

Posted by Ira Gordon on January 29, 2018 at 8:21 AM

I got the call on January 12th 2017 from my parents across the country in California that their/our 10.5 year-old Golden Doodle, “Yankee” had just experienced a generalized seizure, the first of his life. 

It lasted for what seemed like an eternity but was probably just a few minutes and my parents were extremely worried.  Fortunately, the episode subsided and no additional seizures occurred immediately after.  

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Topics: Veterinary Blogs, Cancer, Oncology

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