Tcc -- Piroxicam & Mitoxantrone, & Link To Animal Cancer Center

On 4/16/2008 JJsMom wrote:

Hi to everyone.  For those of you with a TCC bladder cancer dog looking for info on treatment options, here's on update on how my 11 yr old scotty JJ is doing with chemo.  After his TCC diagnosis in February (positive VBAT bladder cancer screening test), I took him to the Colorado State University Animal Cancer Center & they confirmed diagnosis of tcc in the urethra, trigone, & down the front bottom part of his bladder.  They did not do a biopsy & recommended against any surgery in his case due to the involvement of the trigone & urethra.  Instead the oncologist started JJ on the standard treatment of Mitoxantrone chemo intravenously, in combination with the oral Piroxicam he was already taking, & the first chemo session was Feb 19.  He also had a baseline ultrasound done the same day.  He had already been on Piroxicam for 2 weeks, as my vet advised me that I should make sure JJ could do ok on the Piroxicam before proceeding with any other kind of treatment.

Our 3rd chemo treatment with the Mitoxantrone was April 10, & JJ has handled the chemo with no problems.  He has also continued the Piroxicam (3.5 mg once daily for 28 lb dog.)  The good news is that the ultrasound done on Apr 10, when compared with the baseline ultrasound from Feb 19, shows that the cancer has not grown or spread to any lymphs or to the prostate.  The chemo has succeeded in keeping the tcc from progressing, but it has not made it go away.  His treatment schedule was 3 chemo treatments with Mitoxantrone 3 weeks apart.  The chemo session takes about 20 minutes with an iv taped to his leg.  He is sleepy the first night afterwards, but otherwise seems fine & hasn't gotten sick at all.  He had significant improvement in his ability to pee within a couple of days after the first chemo (went from just a drip drip to steady dribble without as much straining).  The oncologist said the median survival rate with mitoxantrone & piroxicam treatment is 305 days. Since the chemo is helping JJ, he recommended one more chemo in 3 weeks & maybe one more 3 weeks after that, then we will stop the chemo & just do an ultrasound every 2 months.  I will post updates as we go ahead with this treatment plan & I hope it helps someone else in making their decisions.  If you decide on chemo, I highly recommend going to a veterinary oncology center that does chemo on a regular basis so you know that they know what they're doing.  My local vet offered to order in the medication & do it in his office, but it's not something he does very often, so we've been going to the animal cancer center for every chemo session and ultrasound. 

Here's the website link for CSU-they have useful info on canine cancer with FAQs, nutrition, when to say goodbye, & grief counseling links with phone numbers.  The grief counseling links appear to be staffed mostly by vet students at university veterinary schools & if you're looking for a veterinary oncology specialist, I would start with that list of vet schools & see if one is near you.   

http://www.csuanimalcancercenter.org/

Good Luck to all of you.

Joy & JJ

Dear Joy and JJ;

Thank you for sharing all your information with us!

My Spike, a 13 yr. old Westie, was diagnosed around Christmas last year but was being treated for a UTI since November. He's been on 3 mg of peroxicam and after initial problems (due to the glucosamine we found out and removed from his therapy) he's doing ok. Recent Ultrasound shows the mass (inoperable due to it being located near the trigone) has increased in density but not grown significantly or spread. He is not on any other treatment except his tummy meds. He is on Hill's i/d diet (wet and kibble) which he likes. He loves his walks and still  acts and walks around like a pup. Has anyone else seen their dog's tumor get more dense and not spread? Still concerned but we take each day at a time. Sometimes except for the straining I try to imagine that Spikey doesn't have cancer and he will live out his biological life, we can only dream and hope!