New cancer therapy tested on dogs first

University of Wisconsin-Madison veterinary clinicians are evaluating cancer radiation that can selectively irradiate tumors without interfering with other tissue.

Part of a $10 million, five-year National Institutes of Health grant, clinicians, Dr. Lisa Forrest (radiology) and Dr. David Vail (oncology) are teaming with physicians, medical physicists and computer experts to test a clinical helical tomotherapy unit installed at the university's Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Helical tomotherapy combines a linear accelerator (a radiation therapy machine) with helical computed tomography (a CT imaging machine). The unit, developed by Dr. Thomas R. Mackie, professor at the university, uses online imaging of the tumor and surrounding sensitive normal tissues to guarantee precise treatment.

Dogs with spontaneous nasal tumors will be the first "guinea pigs" for the testing. The new method will enable doctors to preserve an animal's eyesight by targeting treatment to the tumor, while avoiding nearby tissues.