AKC Canine Health Foundation - 42

GD3 Nano-scaled Liposomal Cancer Vaccine Clinical Trial
for Canine Hemangiosarcoma
Rowan Milner, BVSc (Hons), MMedVet, PhD, DACVIM, DECVIM
(Oncology)
University of Florida
BIOGRAPHY
Dr Milner received his veterinary degree from the University of
Pretoria in 1980. In 1998 he received ECVIM diplomate status in
Internal Medicine. He completed a PhD at the UP Medical
College. He joined the University of Florida in 2001 and was
boarded in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine
(Oncology) in 2009. He is the Hill's Endowed Professor of
Oncology and Director of Clinical and Translational Research.
He holds affiliate appointments in the UF College Medicine and is part of the Pediatric Cancer
Immunotherapy Initiative (PCI2). Dr Milner's has developed cancer immunotherapies as an
adjuvant to cancer standard-of-care.
PRESENTATION ABSTRACT
Dogs with hemangiosarcoma often present as an emergency in a collapsed state and require
intensive treatment including emergency surgery e.g,. splenectomy or sub-total pericardectomy,
imaging and chemotherapy. Owners are often distraught by the unexpected news. HSA is
rarely diagnosed in the early stages as imaging is often not included in the yearly physical
examinations. Most dogs die within 2-3 months of treatment because of the advanced stage
(splenic rupture) of the cancer and metastasis to the lungs and other organs. The addition of
chemotherapy, typically doxorubicin, has resulted in median survival times for dogs with splenic
HSA of only 145-180 days. Regrettably there has been little improvement in survival in dogs
with HSA in the last 20-30 years. Nonetheless adjunctive immunotherapy holds promise. We
propose to vaccinate dogs with naturally occurring splenic hemangiosarcoma receiving
standard-of-care splenectomy and doxorubicin chemotherapy to improve survival and
investigate the expression profiles of GD3 and antibody response.
Hypothesis: Our first hypothesis is the GD3-nano-lipo vaccine will induce a measurable immune
response in dogs with splenic hemangiosarcoma receiving standard-of-care, alternating with six
vaccinations compared to dogs receiving only standard-of-care plus placebo. The second
hypothesis will compare the disease-free interval (DFI) and overall survival between the
vaccinated (n=20) and placebo (n=20) groups. Our aims are designed to measure the immune
response between groups, correlate the expression profiles of GD3 in HSA, and record and
compare overall survival and disease-free intervals between groups. The first aim has been
successfully completed and we have developed method for staining GD3 on fresh frozen tissue
has been validated. The clinical has started (July 1, 2022), of the 18 patients (spleens) screened
so far with splenic masses, only 8 were hemangiosarcoma - of these two only two met the
inclusion criteria and owner signed consent. Data is accruing.
CURRENT CHF GRANTS
03011: A GD3 Nano-scaled Liposomal Cancer Vaccine Clinical Trial for Canine
Hemangiosarcoma
2023 National Parent Club Canine Health Conference
Presented by the AKC Canine Health Foundation and Nestlé Purina PetCare

AKC Canine Health Foundation

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