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.
Autumn has been on Proxicam for almost 3 monthes. 5mg once a day. She also takes Carfate 2x’s a day. Her stomach is getting upset. Proxicam is working well. Any suggestions how to make her stomach feel better and stay on Proxicam. She had dark stook last week and threw up 2x’s. We hate to take her off because it is keeping the immflmation down. Any suggestions as to what we can do? Thank you
Melissa
Thanks for listing all the comments you got on Palladia
My 12 year old mixed breed (30 pound) dog was just diagnosed with a tonsil tumor that has extended to the lymph nodes. It looks like squamous cell (based on needle aspirate cytology). Is there any role for palladia for this kind of tumor, what is the prognosis and do you advocate any other treatments?
Thank you very much for your input.
Susan
To add to my last post, my email is : ScrappyUSA@aol.com Does anyoneknow how to reach Eric. This is the ONLY post I found with someone who has given Palladia to a cat.
Lani Nolan
Eric can you contact me about how your cat is doing on Palladia?
Dr. D, my cat is supposed to start palladia today. Do you have any suggestions on dosage or if I should even bother?
He has subcutaneous hemangiosarcoma (metastasized) not to lungs yet though.
Dr. Dressler – do you know of any effective use of Palladia for treatment of hemangiocarcinoma? We understand that this is an incurable cancer and that we are merely buying time for our beloved golden retriever who was diagnosed following an emergency splenectomy 3 months ago. 2 weeks post-op there was no evidence of metastases so she qualified for a trial study of a new drug. We do not know what this drug is but have been told she is the only dog on the west coast participating on this study. In the 2 1/2 months on this drug, she has had no side effects except for one elevated temp that resolved within a few hours without IV hydration. At that point, she was taken off the trial drug for 7 days and was then put back on at a slightly reduced dosage. The ultrasound performed 2 weeks after being off the drug for a week showed an increase in a liver nodule from 1 cm. to 3cm but the next ultrasound 2 weeks after that, showed a 1/2 cm decrease in the same tumor but a slight increase in 3 other small nodules that were barely visualized before. The bottom line is that apparently this study drug is keeping a very aggressive cancer at bay with no apparent side effects. We are thrilled with her quality of life and hope her next ultrasound will demonstrate enough benefit to keep her on the study drug indefinitely after the initial 12 week study is over. If she doesn’t qualify, our oncologist has suggested going on Palladia or conventional chemo. Everything I have been able to find on Palladia indicates that it was originally developed for MCT’s and that veterinary oncologists are now “experimenting” with it on other types of cancer. After reading the input about side effects on this blog, we are extremely reluctant to put Sasha on Palladia, at a cost of $5,500 – $5,700 for a 6 week course if there’s no clear benefit for hemangiosarcoma.
Angels, if you can leave your email address for me, I can try to help.
The vet has prescrbed this drug for our cat who is 15 years old, male and weigh about 9 pounds now. He has just finished 5 days of radiation. This is the third type of cancer he has had the other two treated successfully with chemo and radiation, all cancers have been in the nasal and mouth areas. He was a 28 pounder and now is just a shadow of himself. We are told that this drug has a different type effect on cats – is that true? He has a sister and they share a litter box. Is this a danger to the other cat, should we separate them if it is safe for him to take?
I have a beautiful 12 year old Border Collie Mix who was diagnosed w/ MCT. It is on the bottom portion of her hind leg in the ankle area. Because of all we have read, and after visiting her vet and oncologist, we feel comfort treatment is her best option. Having the surgery is not an option for her as the oncologist does not feel he can get it all and her physical as well as her mental recovery would be extremely difficult. She is deathly afraid of going to the vet clinic and shivers and salivates nonstop the moment we walk in. We feel her quality of life would deminish greatly just due to stress. We have decided to treat her with prednisone, pepsid, benedryl, and DHA w/ algea. This should keep her as comfortable as possible AND hopefully allow her to continue with her daily life of chasing rabbits, squirels and lizards. Fortunately, our vet suggested my family make the decision to do what is best for our Sierra, NOT what is best for us. I treasure my dog so much. She was a rescue dog we aquired when she was a gangly teenager. I am lucky to have her in my life 🙂
We need help!!
Hello all!
My Labrador-Mix, called Arthur, 7 years old – has today his second resection of mastcell tumors. I get a information about Palladia from the veternary – unfortunatelly we can´t buy Palladia in germany as yet. Maybe someone could help us to get Palladia from the U.S.??? Sorry for my bad english but my dog needs help urgently. We can´t wait if Palladia is on the market in germany.
Thanks in advance for every comment!
Angela & Arthur
Dear Angela,
you should see if you can get Masivet in your area (masitinib). It is approved in Europe.
Best,
Dr D
Dear Dr. Dressler,
What do you think of Oncept from Merial? Does it work?
Kind regards,
Mrs.M. Bos
Holland
We just started Izzy on Palladia for TCC last night after no success with carboplatin or mitoxantrone. He spent a few minutes groaning about an hour after treatment, but stopped and seemed ok. I would appreciate any anecdotal info on side effects. This is a last ditch effort on our part. Up till now, his quality of life has been pretty good. Just has to pee every hour and has some trouble defecating too, but he does it. He’s a ten year old Australian Terrier. Mark, please let me know what’s happening with your coonhound
Greetings Dr. D., our Lab mix Shadow has been battling MCT cancer for about 2 years now. She has had numerous surgeries to remove malignant tumors on her skin. To no success the cancer has now moved to her lymph nodes. A tumor on lymph node in her groin and also one in her abdomen that only shows up on a sonogram. It has not reached her liver or spleen yet. We have tried a alternating combo of Vinblastine and Cytocin combined with Prednisone but have had little to no success in tumor shrinkage. Tomorrow, 11/8/10, we are going to give Palladia a shot. We have very deep reservations though about putting her on this drug as we have a 4 year old and 21 month old boys in the house. We are also very concerned about the side effects, especially the possibility of bone pain or as with any chemo drug something more severe. We are also concerned because Shadow is a licker and my youngest just loves pooch smooches. Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated. Also are you aware of any alternative medications that may be available to battle MCT cancer? I am located in Orlando, FL and was told the “best” canine cancer alternative medicine vet is employed by the University of Florida’s vet program and at this point we would be willing to try anything that is safe and may show promise. U fo F does have a vet clinic open to the public. Shadow is our first born and we would do anything for her. Thanks in advance for your response.
Deepest regards,
Sean
Dear Sean,
So sorry to hear about this.
The question you pose could fill a book. Anti-histamine diet, Apocaps, cimetidine, benadryl would be choices you should consider. We don’t yet have a cancer cure but these steps have helped patients under my care….all the stuff in the Guide which I would take some time to read (it is easy reading) . There are also multiple blog posts about mast cell tumors. As always, all steps should be under vet supervision.
Best,
Dr D
P.S. Capsaicin cream is used externally and applied topically – my dog had skin cancer.
In reply to Elena
I’m not sure if your dog has a form of skin cancer, but you may ask your veteranarian about trying capsaicin cream. Capsaicin has been found to be effective in stopping cancer cells from replicating. The cream greatly reduced the size of the tumor one of my dogs had (by about 75 %) when nothing else was working. He did later die, but that was due to the efficacy of valproic acid treatment in killing cancer cells – a clot of which went into his heart.
Currently am beginning cancer treatment for another dog that has congestive heart failure, too. She was supposed to have died from heart failure two years ago, but has done well with drug treatment. Am hoping the Palladia aids in keeping the cancer behind her eye at bay, so that she may have a comfortable interlude and be able to cross the rainbow bridge quickly and peacefully when the time comes.
Best wishes to all of you and your lovely four footed friends