Page 7 - paws-and-hooves-autumn-2024

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Page 7 - paws-and-hooves-autumn-2024
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                                                                                                         STORY
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       Donkey fights



       cancer with ECT









       Albert, a five-year-old chestnut roan standard        increases the permeability of tumour cells to the cytotoxic
       donkey, had already overcome the odds. Left in a      drug. This enables a high concentration of chemotherapy
       field emaciated, covered in sores, with a respiratory   to destroy the cancer.
       infection and lameness, friends Barbara and Ann       ECT has been used in human clinical practice for the
       took him in. They nurtured him back to health and     last decade. Evidence suggests that this technique is a
       all was going well until a scratch on his leg turned   highly effective method to treat equine skin cancer and is
       sinister, and suddenly Albert had to conquer the      particularly beneficial when treating delicate sites like joints.
       odds all over again…                                  By offering a cure or a remission of the disease, ECT can
                                                             give our equine patients an extended quality of life.
       Over the next month, the scratch grew and turned black.
       When steroid cream had no effect, Albert was referred to   Once back home, Albert rested in his horse box for a
       the RVC Equine Hospital. RVC’s Associate Professor Andy   month. His wound was slow to heal but thanks to his calm
       Fiske-Jackson, a European Specialist in Equine Surgery   temperament and Barbara and Ann’s care he recovered
       explained: “He had a nasty fibroblastic sarcoid on his front  from this initial treatment. Last year he completed a 100-
       leg near his fetlock joint. Treatment options were limited   mile donkey challenge. Barbara, Albert's owner said:
       due to its location near the joint.”                  "Albert enjoys donkey agility; he has a donkey companion
                                                             called Cedric and seems quite content. I totally adore
       The fetlock joint is a weight-bearing high motion joint,
       allowing significant flexion and extension of the lower   these two and can't imagine my life without them."
       limb. When galloping or jumping, fetlock joints support the   Sarcoids affect 5% of the UK horse, pony and
       donkey’s entire body-weight. To avoid damaging the fetlock  donkey population. They can vary greatly in their
       joint, the fibroblastic sarcoid was removed with a small   size, appearance, and how they grow and respond to
       surgical margin between the cancerous and normal cells.   treatment. Unfortunately, they can return and recently
       The site was injected with cisplatin (a cytotoxic anticancer   Barbara noticed a second mass. Albert has returned
       drug) and an electrochemotherapy (ECT) device was     to the RVC for treatment, and we hope to update our
       applied. Funded by the ACT, the device briefly applies   supporters as to how he gets on, in our Paws & Hooves
       a high-voltage electrical field to the targeted area which   Bitesize monthly emails.

                                                                                                        Albert
         Professor Andy Fiske-Jackson, Deputy Head
         of RVC Equine and Associate Professor in
         Equine Surgery:


               The laboratory results
         showed we hadn’t completely
         removed the sarcoid which was
         expected given its location near
         the joint. However, because we

         had treated the margins with
         ECT, we were able to kill the
         remaining sarcoid tissue,

         without damaging the joint.


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