Chemotherapy for domestic animals

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Chemotherapy for domestic animals"

David Harmon
5 years ago
Views:

1 Chemotherapy for domestic animals What is chemotherapy and how does it work? Is chemotherapy a risk for humans? What are the side effects of chemotherapy?

2 What is chemotherapy? Chemotherapy is used to treat malignant tumors (cancer). These are cellular toxins that attack: Prevents cell division Enables self destruction of the cells

3 An example of the chemotherapy effects: a histiocytic sarcoma in the lung Before chemotherapy Lymph node Lung mass (right lobe) After chemotharapy

4 The goal of chemotherapy First of all, the preservation or the restoration of the patients life quality. The extension of life. The patient should: Have no pain A good appetite Should not be vomiting or have diarrhea

5 How chemotherapy is administered? Chemotherapy protocols consist of a series of treatments that takes place daily, weekly or every 2 to 4 weeks, over a certain period of time.

about 5 to 30 minutes depending on the drug chosen.

6 How is chemotherapy administered? Some drugs need to be injected intravenously; the procedure takes about 5 to 30 minutes depending on the drug chosen. Most patients tolerate it well and don t need to be sedated. Other medications can be administrated in the mouth at home.

7 Is an animal under chemotherapy a risk for humans? The dose of chemotherapeutic agents is significantly lower in animals than in humans. We can find a low dose of chemotherapeutic agents in the stools, urine and saliva a few days after chemotherapy. For safety reasons, it is recommended to discard urine and stools with gloves and avoid contact with saliva.

8 Is an animal under chemotherapy a risk for humans? Pregnant women and children should avoid contact with the patient for 3 to 4 days after chemotherapy. Chemotherapy in the form of tablets or capsules should not be split, crumbled or opened. Manipulating these drugs is strictly forbidden to pregnant woman and minors.

9 Sides effects due to Chemotherapy 60% of the treated animals don't have any side effects. 30% have mild, transient (1 to 3 days) Side effects: - Loss of appetite - Vomiting / diarrhea < 10% need hospitalisation 0.05% pass away due to chemotherapy

10 Side effects: gastrointestinal tract Loss of appetite Nausea, Vomiting Diarrhea Usually temporary effects. Can be treated symptomatically: Antiemetic (against vomiting) Anti diarrhea Spasmolytic Antibiotic

11 Side effects: bone marrow Decreased production of blood cells ( Myelosuppression ): Red Blood cells have a lifespan of 73 days for cats and 104 days for dogs. White blood cells live 8 hours they are more affected. «Leukopenia» = Reduction of white blood cells in the blood. «Neutropenia» = Reduction of neutrophilic granulocytes in the blood. These cells are important for defence against infections and are part of the body s non-specific defence system.

12 Side effects: bone marrow The patient may be more susceptible to infections reduce general condition, fever. Therapy for severe neutropenia: Delay the next chemotherapy Prophylactic antibiotic Reduction of chemotherapy dose

This is the reason why chemotherapy causes only a little hair loss in the animals.

13 Side effects: hair loss Unlike humans, dogs and cats fur develops cyclically, twice a year. This is the reason why chemotherapy causes only a little hair loss in the animals. On the other hand, dogs with a continuously growing fur coat (for ex. Poodles, Lagotto, ) show a more important hair loss. Cats can lose their whiskers.

14 Specific side effects Some of the Drugs have specific but rare side effects, for example: Cystitis (Cyclophosphamide) Increased liver enzymes (Lomustine) Cardiac Arrhythmias (Doxorubicine)

15 In summary A good life quality is the main goal of cancer treatment. Serious side effects are rare. The amount of chemotherapeutic agents that are released into the body through stools, urine or saliva can be considered as non-problematic.

CHEMOTHERAPY INFORMATION AND CONSENT

CHEMOTHERAPY INFORMATION AND CONSENT ONCURA PARTNERS (WWW.OncuraPartners.com) What is chemotherapy? Chemotherapy drugs are compounds that are toxic to cancer cells. Chemotherapy drugs may be given by intravenous