Cancer Drug for Cats May Also Help Humans
Jakiro, a 9-year-old black shorthair cat, was given more time with his family thanks to a breakthrough in cancer research partially funded by generous donors to the CCAH. Initially given just six to eight weeks to live, Jakiro was enrolled in a clinical trial investigating a new treatment for squamous cell carcinoma. He survived another eight months.
Oral squamous cell carcinoma is a highly aggressive cancer in cats. Treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation usually do little to stop it.
“Unfortunately, there is often nothing we can do,” said oncologist Dr. Katherine Skorupski, co-lead author on the research. “We can do our best to keep them comfortable, but generally their time remaining is not long. This research is a signal that there may be more we can do to help these cats.”
Working with researchers at UC San Francisco, Skorupski completed a clinical trial of a new cancer drug for cats with the disease. The drug, which was originally designed to treat human head and neck cancers, is the first of its kind to target a protein called STAT3. This protein acts like a faulty switch that is stuck on and tells cancer cells to keep growing.
Used in the clinical trial, the drug controlled the cancer in 35% of cats treated, with minimal side effects. The promising results may lead the drug to be used with other therapies in the future and will likely be effective for humans with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
The study was published in Cancer Cell, a leading scientific journal that publishes articles that provide major advances in cancer research and oncology.
This research is a signal that there may be more we can do to help these cats.”
– Dr. Katherine Skorupski, DVM, DACVIM (Oncology)
Researchers stated that shutting down a protein that drives cancer has historically been difficult, but this study proves that it is possible. They noted that the study also shows that pets with naturally occurring diseases can be good models of human disease, often yielding more reliable results than traditionally used mouse models.
Of the 20 cats enrolled in the trial, seven of them exhibited either a partial response or stable disease during the study period. The average survival time post-treatment for those cats was just over five months. Importantly, the treatment appeared to not only block the activity of STAT3 but also raise levels of a protein associated with an immune response to cancer.
In addition to CCAH funding, this research was also supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research of the National Institutes of Health.