Osteosarcoma Research

Current Projects

Internet research turned up a reference to work done at Purdue Veterinary School by Dr. Kevin Hahn in which a biopsy tool was used to drill through the bone so that drugs could be delivered directly to the tumor site. Even with the somewhat crude tools available at the time, the results were promising. This suggested the possibility that such an approach could offer a more reliable treatment than limb isolation (which often proves impossible in dogs because of problems with the arterial cannula) while still providing the benefit of reduction or elimination of side effects. We are working on such a targeted delivery of radioisotopes in partnership with IsoTherapeutics Group, LLC.

Critical to this technique is a more sophisticated tool for bone penetration. We have developed such a tool – a bone drill capable of drilling a clean .017" hole (shown below) – and have applied for U.S. and international patents.

We are now seeking candidates for treatment at the Texas A&M Institute for Preclinical Studies (TIPS) at Texas A&M. TIPS has the most advanced imaging equipment in the world, which can reveal the precise location and extent of the tumor for the most effective treatment. Appropriately enough, a St. Bernard was the first dog to receive treatment at TIPS.