The most common symptoms of nasal tumors in dogs are snorting sounds while breathing, nasal discharge, and nosebleeds.
The Typical vet treatment for nasal tumors involves radiation:
The mean survival time, after radiation, is 12-14 months. Side-effects of radiation treatments often impact a dog’s eyes and mouth as well. 4 months if zero treatment.
Michele Steffey, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, assistant professor of small animal surgery at University of California-Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, is testing a new treatment called “transnare cryoablation.”
Essentially, she is using extreme cold to freeze and remove the tumor tissue.
Transnare cryoablation is considered less invasive that traditional treatments because it does not require any incisions. In addition, Steffey’s team can make several passes with the freezing probe while the pet is under anesthesia just once. Depending upon the specific case, some dogs may require additional sessions later.
For example, a 9-year-old chocolate Lab named Barkely had been in treatment for adenocarcinoma for a year when he became a patient of Steffey’s. The good news is that nasal adenocarcinoma often grows only where it begins without rapidly spreading to other areas of the body, such as the lungs or lymph nodes.
Barkely’s tumor stretched from the tip of his nose all the way to the back of his nasal cavity. While Barkely had some invasion from the left to the right side of his nose, the tumor had not broken through the cribriform plate, a bone that separates the nasal cavity from the brain.
In March 2013, while under anesthesia, Barkely received four consecutive treatments with the cryoprobe in about 45 minutes. He had a few nosebleeds afterwards, but Steffey says that’s to be expected.
Barkely’s four-month recheck CT scan showed no evidence of nasal tumor regrowth and no evidence that the cancer has spread to his lungs or lymph nodes.
The clinical trials of this new procedure are just beginning, so it’s hard to know how long these results may last. So far, things look promising.
Steffey says, “All types of nasal tumors may be enrolled in the study, and we will follow their outcome in order to eventually make more specific recommendations as needed. However, just like other local therapies for cancer (radiation, surgery), there may be anatomic or other limitations to safe administration of the treatment in an individual patient, and that decision can only be made on a case-by-case basis.”
ALSO:
Image-guided transnasal cryoablation of a recurrent nasal adenocarcinoma in a dog.
Author information
Abstract
PMID:
"We took our dog to UC Davis' soft tissue department. Dr. Michelle Steffey saw her on January 23rd and determined the nasal cancer had not yet (operative word) crossed the brain barrier and therefore she was a candidate for Cryotherapy. They kept her a couple of days before releasing her after the procedure. The next four weeks she sneezed out, literally blew out black, sticky, smelly chunks and had a continuous pinkish brown nasal discharge. I continued the organic cooking, the Pepsid A/C , Piroxicam (9mg), fish oil and chinese herb (Yunnan Baiyo, to prevent nose bleeds).
"The cost: pretty much depicted in the study info but it ran $1000 for the CT scan they had to do because it is "layered", different than what most local vets can do. This past recheck cost us $328. However, there were "extra" charges, such as medication (piroxicam, pain meds post treatment, various blood workups, anesthesia, boarding for 3 days" which added another approximate $900 to our first bill. You must also factor in hotels (we stayed at the crappy EconoLodge on D Street (about somewhat under $100 night after taxes), but it was a great environment for walking dog) and the hotel, the rental car. Rental car cost us $350 this last time but hotels were about the same. Food, this time around for the 2 of us was about $100 over a 3.5 day period (2 adults and, of course dog). Plus airfare for non area people."
The Typical vet treatment for nasal tumors involves radiation:
The mean survival time, after radiation, is 12-14 months. Side-effects of radiation treatments often impact a dog’s eyes and mouth as well. 4 months if zero treatment.
Michele Steffey, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, assistant professor of small animal surgery at University of California-Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, is testing a new treatment called “transnare cryoablation.”
Essentially, she is using extreme cold to freeze and remove the tumor tissue.
Transnare cryoablation is considered less invasive that traditional treatments because it does not require any incisions. In addition, Steffey’s team can make several passes with the freezing probe while the pet is under anesthesia just once. Depending upon the specific case, some dogs may require additional sessions later.
For example, a 9-year-old chocolate Lab named Barkely had been in treatment for adenocarcinoma for a year when he became a patient of Steffey’s. The good news is that nasal adenocarcinoma often grows only where it begins without rapidly spreading to other areas of the body, such as the lungs or lymph nodes.
Barkely’s tumor stretched from the tip of his nose all the way to the back of his nasal cavity. While Barkely had some invasion from the left to the right side of his nose, the tumor had not broken through the cribriform plate, a bone that separates the nasal cavity from the brain.
In March 2013, while under anesthesia, Barkely received four consecutive treatments with the cryoprobe in about 45 minutes. He had a few nosebleeds afterwards, but Steffey says that’s to be expected.
Barkely’s four-month recheck CT scan showed no evidence of nasal tumor regrowth and no evidence that the cancer has spread to his lungs or lymph nodes.
The clinical trials of this new procedure are just beginning, so it’s hard to know how long these results may last. So far, things look promising.
Steffey says, “All types of nasal tumors may be enrolled in the study, and we will follow their outcome in order to eventually make more specific recommendations as needed. However, just like other local therapies for cancer (radiation, surgery), there may be anatomic or other limitations to safe administration of the treatment in an individual patient, and that decision can only be made on a case-by-case basis.”
ALSO:
Image-guided transnasal cryoablation of a recurrent nasal adenocarcinoma in a dog.
Author information
Abstract
PMID:
"We took our dog to UC Davis' soft tissue department. Dr. Michelle Steffey saw her on January 23rd and determined the nasal cancer had not yet (operative word) crossed the brain barrier and therefore she was a candidate for Cryotherapy. They kept her a couple of days before releasing her after the procedure. The next four weeks she sneezed out, literally blew out black, sticky, smelly chunks and had a continuous pinkish brown nasal discharge. I continued the organic cooking, the Pepsid A/C , Piroxicam (9mg), fish oil and chinese herb (Yunnan Baiyo, to prevent nose bleeds).
"The cost: pretty much depicted in the study info but it ran $1000 for the CT scan they had to do because it is "layered", different than what most local vets can do. This past recheck cost us $328. However, there were "extra" charges, such as medication (piroxicam, pain meds post treatment, various blood workups, anesthesia, boarding for 3 days" which added another approximate $900 to our first bill. You must also factor in hotels (we stayed at the crappy EconoLodge on D Street (about somewhat under $100 night after taxes), but it was a great environment for walking dog) and the hotel, the rental car. Rental car cost us $350 this last time but hotels were about the same. Food, this time around for the 2 of us was about $100 over a 3.5 day period (2 adults and, of course dog). Plus airfare for non area people."
16 (yes you read that right) radiation treatments over three weeks
Each one requiring anesthesia
New Less Invasive Option Being Tested
Steffey explains, “The cryoprobe is basically a large needle that is closed at the tip. Inert gasses – argon and helium – are cycled through the cryoprobe to control the temperature and vented back through the system, so the patient is never directly exposed to the gasses. The argon is the gas that causes the drop in temperature around the probe due to the expansion of the gas (Joule-Thompson effect) within the probe. We take the temperature down to about -60 to -80 degrees Celsius to kill the tumor.”
J Small Anim Pract. 2011 Jun;52(6):329-33. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-5827.2011.01071.x.
An eight-year-old female spayed Airedale terrier with rapid recurrence of a nasal adenocarcinoma following image-guided intensity-modulated radiation therapy (BLOGGER NOTE - MEANING THE RADIATION DIDN'T WORK) was treated with transnasal, image-guided cryotherapy. Ice ball size and location were monitored real-time with computed tomography-fluoroscopy to verify that the entire tumour was enveloped in ice. Serial computed tomography scans demonstrated reduction in and subsequent resolution of the primary tumour volume corresponding visually with the ice ball imaged during the ablation procedure. Re-imaging demonstrated focallysis of the cribriform plate following ablation that spontaneously resolved by 13 months. While mild chronic nasal discharge developed following cryoablation, no other clinical signs of local nasal neoplasia were present. Twenty-one months after nasal tumour cryoablation the dog was euthanased as a result of acute *haemoabdomen*. Image-guided cryotherapy may warrant further investigation for the management of focal residual or recurrent tumours in dogs, especially in regions where critical structures preclude surgical intervention.
*NOTES: Hemoabdomen*, defined as the accumulation of blood within the peritoneal cavity, is a relatively common finding in dogs but rare in cats. The underlying cause of hemoabdomen can be either traumatic or spontaneous. The most common cause of traumatic hemoabdomen is a motor vehicle accident, but penetrating trauma can also result in abdominal bleeding. (Odd if the dog above also had yet another cancer!?)
Spontaneous hemoabdomen is caused by neoplasia 80 percent of the time in dogs but only 46 percent of the time in cats. The spleen is the most common organ in both species to develop neoplasia, and hemangiosarcoma is the most common diagnosis. Regardless of the cause, intra-abdominal hemorrhage can be life-threatening.
© 2011 British Small Animal Veterinary Association.
- 21627662
- [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
She had her four-week checkup on Monday and the tumor is g-o-n-e. Gone! Gone! The freeze worked. Within a week we suspected success because Sam could once again breathe out of her left nostril.
We realize that there is no "cure" for nasal cancer. Nevertheless, the tumor is gone -- it does not mean it won't come back -- but it is gone and we will continue to keep our eyes on things.LINK TO CALIFORNIA UC DAVIS VET TRIAL FOR THIS UCD – Nasal Tumor: Transnare Cryoablation of Nasal Tumors Study Trials
PROCEDURE
THIS IS A PARTIALLY FUNDED STUDY. Dog owners participating in this study will be given special financial considerations. The cost of cryoablation procedure (excluding the costs of general anesthesia) will be covered by the study (an approximately $4000 benefit to the client) but standard medical costs (hospitalization, medications, etc) are the responsibility of the client. There will be no charge for the study rechecks at 1 month, 4 months, and 8 months. You will be financially responsible for the charges associated with the clinical care of your dog beyond the stipends provided. Owner Responsibilities: The owner will be responsible for the individualized costs of the patient’s care at the time of the treatment (anesthesia, hospitalization, medications, other individualized diagnostic tests needed to ensure the patient is safe for the procedure), and for scheduling recheck appointments post-treatment and keeping those appointments as required by protocol. Owners also have the responsibility to cover the cost of the initial examination, pre-treatment workup, pre-treatment CT scan, and any additional diagnostic tests needed to determine their dog’s eligibility for the study, and medications prescribed. Initial Evaluation for Participation: All dogs must be examined by a VMTH oncology, internal medicine, radiation oncology service or soft tissue surgery veterinarian, and require the baseline evaluations described above at the owners expense before a dog can be considered for enrollment in the trial.Procedures: Cryoablation procedure is a minimally invasive procedure performed under general anesthesia. Special cryoablation needles are inserted through the nostrils, and freezing sufficient to kill the tumor is applied.
- I found a quote:
I buy most of my pill stuff from Swanson Vitamins. They are cheaper, in capsules for dosage changes, and carry almost everything I give to Lucy except for the Chinese Herbs Stasis Breaker prescription, and the Low Dose Naltrexone prescription. Here is a $5 off coupon link I found
