Palladia, First Dog Cancer Drug FDA Approved But Not Great
Dr. Demian Dressler is internationally recognized as “the dog cancer vet” because of his innovations in the field of dog cancer management, and the popularity of his blog here at Dog Cancer Blog. The owner of South Shore Veterinary Care, a full-service veterinary hospital in Maui, Hawaii, Dr. Dressler studied Animal Physiology and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Davis before earning his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University. After practicing at Killewald Animal Hospital in Amherst, New York, he returned to his home state, Hawaii, to practice at the East Honolulu Pet Hospital before heading home to Maui to open his own hospital. Dr. Dressler consults both dog lovers and veterinary professionals, and is sought after as a speaker on topics ranging from the links between lifestyle choices and disease, nutrition and cancer, and animal ethics. His television appearances include “Ask the Vet” segments on local news programs. He is the author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Full Spectrum Treatments to Optimize Your Dog’s Life Quality and Longevity. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Avian Veterinarians, the National Animal Supplement Council and CORE (Comparative Orthopedic Research Evaluation). He is also an advisory board member for Pacific Primate Sanctuary.
Updated: March 14th, 2019
Palladia, the first drug officially approved for use in treating dog cancer has arrived. This was described in the Dog Cancer Survival Guide by it’s pre-market name, SU11654. Now it’s finally ready for release.
Palladia, made by Pfizer, has been approved by the FDA. It is expected to be available next year. This drug is approved for treating mast cell tumors in the dog.
The fact that this is the first drug approved for dog cancer may be odd for many. What about all those chemotherapy drugs that are used? They are not FDA approved?
Well, the facts are that vets and veterinary oncologists have been using human drugs the whole time. As a matter of fact, many of the drugs we use generally are not FDA-approved for use in the canine.
Why?
It turns out that FDA drug approval is allowed for one species at a time. On top of that, approval is for one disease or problem. In veterinary medicine, we have cats, dogs, birds, rabbits, monkeys, snakes, and so on…many different species, and they all need treatment.
It would take hundred of years and staggering amounts of money to get all our drugs approved for all these different species and diseases.
So vets have “off-label” drug use privileges. Off-label drug use means we can use drugs approved for one species (including humans) freely in other species.
Let’s take a look at some of the facts around Palladia.
Like most of the conventional treatments we use in treating dogs with cancer, the numbers for Palladia are a bit disheartening.
The median duration of objective response (meaning how long the Palladia’s effect lasted on mast cell tumors) was 12 weeks. Yes, 3 months of tumor shrinkage or disappearance is what you can expect. This number is taken from the original study.
After 3 months the cancer came back.
On top of this, not all dogs with mast cell tumors even responded. It turns out that roughly 40% of dog with mast cell tumors will actually respond to the drug, while the majority do not.
This means that while about 40% of the time the cancer either went away or shrank, in the remaining 60% of dogs Palladia had no effect.
Get a copy of the Dog Cancer Survival Guide for more information and tools to help your dog with cancer
Sigh.
If you would like to look at the original data for yourself, here is the link.
This highlights important points.
First, there is a big to do about Palladia. But, the actual statistics are depressing. Interesting contrast between hype and reality.
Second, I think most guardians of dogs afflicted with mast cell tumors would not be jumping for joy at these numbers, in spite of the festivities at Pfizer.
Lastly, this shows how important it is to leap sideways in our efforts to really treat canine cancer.
The more I think about dog cancer, and disease in general, the more I believe early choices are key, long before old age.
I will start addressing how dog cancer does not start in old age, in future posts. Instead, it starts many, many years before hand. We need to start taking steps earlier, much earlier.
Best to all,
Dr D
Dr. Demian Dressler is internationally recognized as “the dog cancer vet” because of his innovations in the field of dog cancer management, and the popularity of his blog here at Dog Cancer Blog. The owner of South Shore Veterinary Care, a full-service veterinary hospital in Maui, Hawaii, Dr. Dressler studied Animal Physiology and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Davis before earning his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University. After practicing at Killewald Animal Hospital in Amherst, New York, he returned to his home state, Hawaii, to practice at the East Honolulu Pet Hospital before heading home to Maui to open his own hospital. Dr. Dressler consults both dog lovers and veterinary professionals, and is sought after as a speaker on topics ranging from the links between lifestyle choices and disease, nutrition and cancer, and animal ethics. His television appearances include “Ask the Vet” segments on local news programs. He is the author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Full Spectrum Treatments to Optimize Your Dog’s Life Quality and Longevity. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Avian Veterinarians, the National Animal Supplement Council and CORE (Comparative Orthopedic Research Evaluation). He is also an advisory board member for Pacific Primate Sanctuary.
We all do what we can, but please don’t remove half of your dog’s jaw. My little Beagle has Oral Squamous Cell and has been through Chemo and is now on Palladia for about 2 more weeks. Then, that’s it. He’s comfortable for now and happy. Eventually, we know it will return and finally do him in… but I would NEVER remove half of his jaw and/or put him through daily radiation for a month only to have the same outcome. You have to ask yourself how much time they would have with no treatment… and how much with some or major surgery and/or removal of limbs and jaw. If the difference isn’t significant, why put them through that hell?
My beautiful, mad, 10 year old English Springer Spaniel was diagnosed with multiple (over 20) grade I Mast Cell Tumours around 18 months ago. After referral at oncologists, and a clean spleen and liver tests, they advised Piriton (antihistamine) daily, but no surgery due to the number of MCTs.
About 3 months ago Amber’s lumps on her hip started breaking out and ulcerating. We treated each breakout with a course of antibiotics and Prednisolone which did the trick. Again, we rejected surgery due to the number of MCTs and now also the size of the lumps on her hip (not enough skin to close wound after taking wide margin). At about the same time, another tumour popped up on her abdomen (actually a recurrence formed on scar tissue from original biopsy). This was diagnosed as a MCT from an aspirate but no grade was given (needed a biopsy which I wasn’t keen to get without total surgical removal – any manipulation makes the tumours incredibly inflamed). After a single breakout it died down and, in agreement with our vet, we decided to leave it alone as it didn’t seem to be bothering her.
In the last 6 weeks however, both main lumps have got much, much bigger. After finding this blog and reading your book, Amber’s diet has changed dramatically, and whilst she enjoys the diet, sadly it’s not had any noticeable effect on her tumours.
We’ve now started her on Palladia in a last ditch attempt to halt and hopefully reduce the MCTs. After a week on Palladia she collapsed when out on a walk and seemed to have a little seizure for a few seconds. Local vet (who has been really supportive imho) thinks it may have been a secondary infection (either as a result of the Palladia or from being on Prednisolone for a long time), or a reaction to the Palladia itself. So we stopped Palladia for a week (and have her on antibiotics) and are now trying Palladia at a slightly reduced dose. So far so good in that she hasn’t had any other side effects (no vomiting, diarrhoea, or decreased appetite etc) but the tumours are still growing at a steady pace (although admittedly it’s only been a week at this decreased dose).
I feel that it’s now a case of waiting to see if the Palladia will help at all in the next few weeks, before making the heartbreaking decision of having her put to sleep. Her quality of life is the most important thing for me. Reading this blog has made me feel so grateful for the 10 years I’ve had with her so far. She’s still eating well, wanting to go out for walks and still stealing socks! I pray that I’ll know when the right time is.
Dear Debbie
I would strongly encourage you to use all of the tools at your disposal. Diet and palladia are only a portion of what is available. No luteolin containing apocaps?
https://www.dogcancerblog.com/blog/mast-cells-and-luteolin-in-cancer-treatment-part-1/
https://www.dogcancerblog.com/blog/luteolin-and-dog-cancer-continued/
you can also try kinavet, neoplasene as some additional approaches, as well as each of the other steps in the Guide.
Please use veterinary supervision for all steps.
Best
Dr D
Dr. Dressler, Our 8 year old cat, Dylan was diagnosed in March 2011 with a poorly differentiated sarcoma that grew on his head over his left eye socket. The tumor grew quickly disfiguring him, closing his eye and causing him to sneeze constantly. 17 doses of radiation were successful in shrinking the tumor, returning his looks to normal and to date he has had 5 of 6 prescribed adriamycin chemo treatments to keep him stabilized. After the 4th chemo, our oncologist prescribed palladia after his recheck appointment blood tests showed he was up to it. Palladia cost us $65 for ten tabs at 2 per week to be increased to 3 per week if it showed promise. Given the thousands we had spent for radiation, chemo and blood tests, that seemed worth trying. Unfortunately, in spite of anti- nausea drugs, the cat had a poor time of it on palladia, losing weight, vomiting, diarrhea the whole intestinal discomfort thing. He stopped eating and hid from us instead of showing up each morning to yowl at the dogs and demand his milk saucer. Our big red-orange tabby looked ragged, tired and exhausted. Of all the treatments, including boarding in hospital for radiation, this was the hardest for Dylan to tolerate. I have read that palladia doesn’t work beyond 12 weeks but after only 3 1/2 weeks , losing 1 1/2 lbs and down to 13 lbs, a new low for him, we had to call it quits due to his weight loss. ( I have read animals 11 lbs and under should not take palladia) We stopped the palladia a week before the 5th adriamycin treatment and he is now doing better after three weeks off palladia.
I think the dosages for cats need a lot of work, but I also question whether the tyrosine kinerase inhibitor in palladia also inhibits some functions needed to repair the cat’s body. . No one has been encouraging to us about Dylan, who is the world’s greatest cat, or at least we think so. (Don’t tell the other two cats and two dogs) Given his aggressive cancer, my cat should not be alive 8 months after diagnosis, but yesterday he felt well enough to box with the 6 month old cat, patrol the perimeter, taste test my lunch and try to sneak out the door with the dogs and give the daschund a big howling fit. I think anyone with a dog or cat who has cancer must commit to more than one modality to prolong life and improve quality of life. There is no one magic bullet. To us, palladia worsened the quality of life more than either the radiation or chemotherapy treatments previously tried.
Dear Maryann
might also consider Neoplasene and acemannan injections- discuss with your vet..
I hope this helps
D
Dr. Dressler,
Almost three weeks ago my dog, Lily, was diagnosed with mandibular osteosarcoma. Two weeks ago, Lily had a Rostral bilateral mandibulectomy. A week later she had to have another one, because her stitches didn’t hold. Four days later, we noticed more growth. The growth has doubled on size in a day. Tomorrow, I hope to take her back to the vet. The oncologist is on vacation ’til thursday, but we will see what can be done. Is there anything you can suggest?
Dear Leslie,
is might have to start the other modes of cancer treatment. This sounds hard, I am so sorry. Consider chemo, radiation, apocaps, neoplasene, artemisinin, diet change to Dog Cancer Diet, pamindronate, doxycycline, and the anitmetastatics in the Guide. Be sure to double check it is not infection. Also pain control, big time, is a consideration. Please have your vet supervise all treatments,
I hope this helps
Dr D
hi dr. dressler-
my 9 1/2 year old lab hudson had a tumor removed from his left hind leg with clean margins. the results came back that it was hemangiosarcoma in the cutis and subcutis. he has had ultra sounds, chest xrays and blood work and they all came up clean.
we saw an oncologist who recommended traditional chemo as well as palladia but could give no numbers/possible outcomes in terms of stopping any recurrence. so we have decided not to do either treatment.
how often should we check for a reoccurrence?
thank you,
nicole
Dear Nicole
there is not black and white rule (welcome to dog cancer, I am sorry)
I would do a recheck every 4-8 weeks. I would also be considering the other steps you have at your disposal– diet, apocaps, antimetastatics, immune support, etc (all under veterianry supervision)- these are in the Guide and can be helpful.
Best
Dr D
My dog has nasal cancer
Our beloved Babe lost her battle to adrenal cancer on 10/12/11. She had a good 8 month experience with carboplatin. When it ceased to become effective she commenced trial of Palladia on 9/8. Her labs on 9/8 were all within normal range. After 1 month of Palladia she had lameness in her back legs, loss of appetite, etc. On 10/11/11 her creatin and BUN were off the chart and she was diagnosed with kidney failure and progression of her disease. I would be VERY cautious of Palladia. I had wished that we would have tried a different chemo option.
Dear Kathy,
I am very sorry to hear of your loss. Thinking of you, and sending my condolences.
Dr D
Dear Dr. Dressler & Dr. Ettinger,
I have a question about possible interactions between Palladia and Apocaps.
Our pug Lexi was diagnosed with intestinal adenocarcinoma, which was resected. The mets to her liver were too numerous to remove. She received a single carboplatin treatment, which was discontinued after another tumor appeared near the incision site (biopsy showed cancer). We started Apocaps, but the vets in this practice take the old-school “evidence-based” view that NO supplements should be given because there are no studies supporting efficacy or showing deleterious interactions. The only concern I can see from reading your book is that Palladia has potential GI issues, and some of the ingredients in Apocaps like curcumin can aggravate GI problems and cause blood thinning. If the Palladia were to cause intestinal bleeding, might the blood-thinning effect of Apocaps aggravate the situation?
Could you share your experience using Palladia and Apocaps? I’d like to arm myself to discuss the issues with the vet as intelligently as possible. Thank you in advance for your time.
Tom
Dear Thomas,
sorry to hear this news about your Lexi. To answer, I would not be giving supplements to a dog with intestinal or gastric wall bleeding other than those to fix the erosion or ulcer. You need a healthy GI tract to be tolerating oral treatments of any kind well.
There are definitely dogs who develop digestive upset on Palladia. Many times in practice we will make sure that the oral chemo is well tolerated, and then start slowly with the oral supplements. This goes for not only Palladia, but also Kinavet, Cyclophosphamide, and others. So I would be sure all’s well on the oral chemo for about 7-10 days, then start your supplements slowly, one by one, starting at half the labeled dose and increasing every 5-7 days up to the regular labelled dose, monitoring for digestive upset meanwhile. Please also be sure all steps are veterinary supervised.
Best,
Dr D
Tom,
Sorry about Lexi. In my cases under my care, I typically use Apocaps on non-Palladia days and sometimes at a slightly lower dose, depending on the case, other medications and other medical conditions. In my cases I have found this very well tolerated. I use both in many of my patients on Palladia.
All my best, Dr Sue
Elmo is a 13.5 year old Cairn Terrier. In addition to Mast Cell tumors, he was recently diagnosed with oral squamous cell carcinoma. We took him to an oncologist who made her recommendations – Palladia seemed to be the only viable option. You see… Elmo also suffers from a narrowing trachea for which he is medicated. Because of this, I felt that putting him under anesthesia once for the CT Scan, perhaps again for another operation, and subsequently more time for raidiation treatments was not in his best interest. You see… he has been operated on 3 times to remove Mast Cell tumors and 1 time to remove the tumor that turned out to be squamous cell carcinoma. Within 2months of removing the tumor in his mouth, another developed inside is nose. Strangely enough, it was at this time we noticed the trachea cough subsiding AND that he was blowing bubbles out of the tumor-affected nostril. Exactly 2 weeks after discovering the new tumor in his nose, we noticed that another tumor had developed in his mouth – just to the right of the original one.
So… this leads me to my question…
Do you think that the Palladia will be effective for Elmo and what time frame (if at all) do you suspect he will have in remission???
Our dog kali was diagnosed with kidney cancer 3.5 years ago. The kidney was removed and the cancer returned and was diagnosed in April, 2010. Our Vet. an instructor at Washington State University Vet. School and on the Phfizer advisory board for Palladia recoomended Palladia. He was quite straight forward and did not promise anything, stating that not all dogs can accept the treatment i.e. they get pretty sick. We have been very fortunate. Kali has lived a normal life for the past 18 months. We give her 80mg of Palladia on M, W, and Friday. My wife is an avid walker and Kali has joined her 3-4 times a week for a walk of 4-8 miles. Other than her coat turning lighter, one would not know she had cancer. The doctors were straight forward and said we might get another year if her system could accept Palladia, which it did. We got 18 months. Unfortunately the cancer has finally overtaken the Palladia and she is now coughing up blood. X-rays show the cancer has advanced in her lungs. This has all happened in about two weeks with each day a liitle worse. We will be putting her down soon. Needless to say we are devastated, but are fortunate that she was able to tolerate the Palladia and give us another 18 months of joy.
Dr. Dressler,
Are you a board certified medical oncologist or radiation oncologist? If you are not, then you are not qualified to make the statements you have made. I work for a multi specialty referral veterinary practice at which we have 6 board certified oncologists. Pallaida is still a new chemotherapy agent but the advantage of having the option of using this chemotherapy is that it specifically targets a receptor on the surface of the cell which is uniquely different form the way the majority of chemotherapy drugs work. In the hands of someone trained to understand the biology of cancer and that can make the appropriate medical judgment for a patient, this drug is effective and safe. I have provided you with a reference to a publication in a peer reviewed medical journal for your review.
London CL et al. Multi center, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, randomized study of oral toceranib phosphate (SU11654), a receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of dogs with recurrent (either local or distant) mast cell tumors following surgical excision. Clin Cancer Res 15(11):3856-3865. 2009.
Hi Dr. Palmer
I am not sure that the mechanism is as important as the outcome for a dog lover, nor is the mechanism nearly as salient as the overall outcome to me or the readers of this blog. The comment was made based on the existing outcome data at the time and the references are linked to within the post
Sorry to disagree with you, but treatment plan analysis (the benefit of a treatment versus the financial, logistical, and life quality cost in the context of life expectancy) does not require board certification. The data is right there. Here’s what we get as a rough approximation from the treatment. Here are the odds of side effects.
Dog owners and veterinarians are qualified to make these calls, as are board certified personnel, but it does not require board certification.
Best
Dr D
I read with interest your post on Palladia; having had a dog who was on it, it peaked my interest. I realize that the numbers are not overwhelming for Palladia’s life-saving abilities, but I do not believe that this – or any chemotherapy – is necessarily intended to be a cure. If looking at the potential for extension of quality life, Palladia can be a worthwhile endeavor – especially if given at slightly under recommended dosage to limit side effects (I think that the doses are not refined yet, especially since it is still relatively new to the canine market). I have an elderly Irish Setter, diagnosed with sarcoma (for which radical surgery was advised, but his CHF and IVC obstruction from a carcinoma prevented that). So, we tried Palladia for a 2.5 weeks at a dose somewhat lower than recommended. We stopped because he was having some GI issues, and our promise is that we would not do anything to worsen his quality of life…so we stopped it. But, in the second week of treatment, the tumor had shrunk by about 5%, upon entering the 3rd week it had shrunk more, and – even after stopping the therapy – the tumor continued to steadily shrink. It finally nearly resolved – and has been that way for about 3 months. Now, it may recur, but in the meantime, he has lived another 3 months of high quality, happy life, unencumbered by what would have been surely a horrible cancer (it was growing so quickly and already interfering with comfort and ambulation!). I know he is but one dog, and the studies bespeak statistics involving hundreds (and only for mast cell tumors). But, I have was extremely impressed by the response and, thus, the potential of what it can offer in terms of extension of quality of life (ever mindful that one must cease the therapy if major side effects occur, as the whole quality of life thing can go out the window if one doesn’t; and, I realize the side effects can be pretty nasty with Palladia, like with any antineoplastic). All these antineoplastic are a horror, when you think about it – but Palladia might give some dogs a few more happy comfortable days (and not just for mast cell tumors).
Thank you
Dear Lori,
thanks for the information. Glad to hear Palladia helped. And yes, Palladia as well as other canine cancer chemotherapy is intended to be palliative as opposed to curative.
Best,
Dr D
I have a 9 year old Beagle named Max. The vet said he had a stage 2 tumor. I paid for the surgery and had it removed. Since then I was given a few options. Radiation which is just way too expensive, Palladia, a couple of other oral meds, and one given in the form of a shot. I went with Palladia and before I give it to my dog I would like to know what to expect. Right now my dog is very happy and loves to run and play. He shows no signs of lameness or loss of appetite. I was told Chemo will many time ruin the quality of life in a dog. I don’t mind giving him the pills just as long as I know he isn’t going to change. I would hate for him to go from what he is now to a sick lazy dog. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
thanks and god bless all of us in this ordeal.
J
Dear Jason,
type this in your search bar using google:
palladia FREEDOM OF INFORMATION SUMMARY ORIGINAL NEW ANIMAL DRUG APPLICATION
You will find the summary, which is a pdf that can be downloaded. Within this document, you will find side effect frequency. They vary depending on dose used. There is a fair probability you could see a drop in appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea. You might see hindlimb weakness. There are rare reports of bleeding in the stomach or intestine. The bottom line is that you need to get the data on what is the gained life expectancy with the use of this treatment (from your vet or oncologist) so you can weigh the odds of side effects against the benefit. You should read the treatment plan analysis in the Guide for more details on how to go about making these decisions…and of course don’t forget diet, apoptogens, immune support, and so on…
Best,
Dr D
We are agonizing over starting our 10-yr old Jack Russell/Beagle mix (21 lbs) on Palladia. She has Squamous Cell Carcinoma in the back of her throat (Pharyngeal/Larynx area). She has been thru hell since we adopted her in 2001.
She has IMHA (a blood/platelet disorder where she almost bled out and was hospitalized twice–2003 & 2005–for long periods of time) and came down with pancreatitis and colitis from the heavy doses of meds given to her for this condition. Later, she had a painful injury to her back (or cord) and became paralyzed in the rear legs. No MRI was performed as we didn’t want to put her under anesthesia for surgery anyway in fear of the IMHA condition. She has been on a maintenance 5 mg Prednisone to stabilize the IMHA but last March started coughing and gagging with difficulty swallowing. Endoscopy found the tumor but since she had been through so much, Chemotherapy and those side effects were out of the question. Surgery was not a good option either so we chose radiation to at least do something. She has tolerated 2 rounds of radiation well, but tomorrow is her last treatment and we are suppose to start Palladia tonight. My gut feeling is not to go through with it, but my husband want to give her every chance as presently she is eating well, taking walks and still wagging her tail. But she has had GI problems in the past and weakness in her hind legs. After reading some of the blogs (some encouraging and others not so much) we are so torn and truly cannot decide how to proceed but feel we are out of options to try.
Any thoughts would certainly be appreciated.
Melani
Hi Dr. Dressler,
I used to attend your webinars, and I always appreciated your helpful advice. My 7 lb. Chihuahua, Simon, has a nasal adenocarcinoma. He was diagnosed Jan. 2010, and after several rounds of radiation, is still doing well. My main concern has always been his quality of life. He has not had any apparent side effects, except for his nose being a bit dry. Otherwise, he eats and sleeps great, and is a very active and happy little guy. However, he does get stuffy again eventually, meaning that the tumor continues to grow back. We are getting to the point where more radiation could cause serious issues with the tumor possibly breaking through his soft palate. So, his oncologist has suggested we try Palladia. I have been a bit hesitant, since radiation has worked so well for him, and I worry about the possible side effects. But now it seems to be the best option we have left. He’s been on Apocaps and K9 Immunity w/Transfer Factor all along, and I also give him turmeric for inflammation. Can he continue taking these while on Palladia? Should I restart him on IP6/Inositol? I read something about cutting the dose of Apocaps in half with Palladia, but I’m really not sure where I saw it. Please let me know. Thank you! Maggie
Hello Dr.
I found this site after 3 days on non-stop googling for possible cure/relief for my 10 year old Dog.
My Willow, a beautiful brown Lab, diagnosed last Tuesday with osteosarcomas in her left-front leg (proximal h.).
Willow cant even run down the stairs without crying, and its all came so sudden (few weeks and getting worse everyday).
i am considering the your Diet book and will be buying the recommended Apocas (Amazon has good reviews of these), but should i go for Palladia as well?
Money is of no issue and i can invest as much as needed if it will relief the pain she is currently experiencing.
I fear every day that she will break her bone (she is quite heavy,,,).
Should i purchase it and start providing it, parallel to Apocaps? or..?
i need your help.
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE
Amal
I have a yellow lab, Joey, that was diagnosed in February 2009 with a mast cell tumor (grade 2-3) on his ear. His ear was removed with clean margins. If June of 2009 he was diagnosed with a mast cell tumor (grade 2-3) in a lymph node. We started traditional chemotherapy and were successful in shrinking the tumor into nothing. In October of 2009 he failed on the chemo and “broke out” with 9 visible mast cell tumors all over his body. We started Palladia in early November of 2009. I am happy to say that with a few minor set backs (2 surgeries to remove tumors) Joey is alive and well and still on Palladia. He has had a couple of times when we’ve had to stop the medicine for a few weeks due to bone pain causing lameness, but that has been the only side effect so far. One time we stopped the Palladia and tried Masitinib (sp?) but had so many negative side effects that we went back to the Palladia. It was when Joey was off the Palladia for that 2 months and on Masitinib that he had a tumor develop that we’ve had the surgeries on. He is currently taking Palladia and Prednisone. If you didn’t know Joey was sick you would never suspect it. He is a very happy active dog. I just wanted to let people know that it can work so it’s worth a try.
In November of 2010 my now 8 yr old Basset Hound woke up one morning having difficulty walking. I made a vet appointment that day and after X-rays no reason for the lameness was found. My vet did an anal exam to check for an abscess on his anal gland, which she thought could be the reason. What she found was a pea sized tumor on his anal gland. In December 2010 both anal glands were removed and pathology reports came back stating it was an anal sac carcinoma. I chose not to do any further treatment because I was concerned with side effects and promised myself to give my dog quality of like over quantity. A year later, December 2012, a visible tumor in the same location came back. I was referred to a specialist because my regular vet wasnt confident she could remove the tumor based on its location. The oncology dept at MedVet in Columbus Ohio were confident that they could remove it without any issues. He had surgery and they were able to remove it, but unfortunately without clean margins. So, no they are suggesting I choose a post operative treatment. I have decided that Palladia is the best option for us. I have done a lot of reading about it and I am really concerned about the side effects. As he gets older he already has some issues with his hind legs, so the potential lameness concerns me. I’m also concerned about the stomach issues. He currently has no tumors anywhere but they are hoping a treatment like Palladia could slow down the progression of the disease and tumor reoccurrence. I have two questions. First, how long should he stay on Palladia, is it really safe to remain on it indefinitely? Second, how long should I wait to stop dosage or adjust dosage once side effects occur?