Mick started his vaccination treatment yesterday which is part of the ELIAS study, with a subdermal injection of the vaccine. While at the vet, I requested a copy of the paper the researchers published.

In a timeline gist, here’s what happens:

1. Surgery (amputation) of the leg, with a sample going to the manufacturer to create 3 vaccines
2. Surgery + 1 week: First vaccine is administered
3. +2 week: Second vaccine administered
4. +3 week: Third vaccine administered
5. +4 week: Break, to continue to give the body time to build up immune system
6. +5 week: Apheresis, they collect the T-cells from Mick, and send them to manufacturer
7. +6 week: Reinject the T-cells back into Mick
8. +7 week to +8 week: Immune stimulation

So the timeline is very aggressive for treatment.

Requesting a copy of the published paper from the vet, the researchers found that in their small study, dogs would be in remission and be disease free in around 213 days ,and potentially live up to > 730 days.

With any diagnosis of cancer, it was clear to me there’s a lot of options, and it was difficult to choose which one would be best for Mick to have him live a longer pain-free life. After talking with my parents, and Arielle, it dawned on me that going this route for Mick seemed like the best.

1. It’s still part of a study, and the company will use Mick’s data to continue to study Osteosarcoma, and potentially make the treatment better for future dogs.
2. Out of all the treatments, it was the one that showed that it could extend his life the longest. Generally, from what I researched, most treatments would only prolong life an extra 12 months or so.
3. The cost of the treatment is quite reasonable, and in comparison to some treatments be cheaper.
4. Pet insurance could also cover some costs (depending on insurer).

With all the factors listed above, it seemed like a no brainer to do the study.

-Steve

For reference the paper is: Autologous cancer cell vaccination, adoptive T-cell transfer,
and interleukin-2 administration results in long-term survival
for companion dogs with osteosarcoma