Harley PoMMom
04-25-2010, 11:36 AM
by Lorna Benson, Minnesota Public Radio
August 5, 2009
St. Paul, Minn. — One year ago, researchers at the University of Minnesota began an experimental procedure to save a dog from an aggressive brain tumor.
By treating Batman, a mixed-breed German shepherd, the University of Minnesota's College of Veterinary Medicine researchers hoped to gain valuable insights into new ways of treating brain tumors in humans.
Veterinary surgeon G. Elizabeth Pluhar has spent the past year caring for Batman during his cancer treatment. After months of good progress reports, Wednesday was his final visit her lab for a brain scan.
...Batman's recovery is remarkable. The 13-year-old shepard mix had a very aggressive form of brain cancer called a glioma. It's the same type of cancer Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy is battling.
Gliomas are tricky to treat because they send out little tentacles that infiltrate other parts of the brain, and surgery alone usually isn't sufficient to cure a glioma.
So university researchers from the vet school, the medical school and the Masonic Cancer Center devised a treatment for Batman that began with surgery. After that, the dog received gene therapy and a custom-made, anti-cancer vaccine designed to boost his immune system.
So far, the university's experiment has been nothing but good news for Batman...
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/08/05/canine-brain-cancer/
August 5, 2009
St. Paul, Minn. — One year ago, researchers at the University of Minnesota began an experimental procedure to save a dog from an aggressive brain tumor.
By treating Batman, a mixed-breed German shepherd, the University of Minnesota's College of Veterinary Medicine researchers hoped to gain valuable insights into new ways of treating brain tumors in humans.
Veterinary surgeon G. Elizabeth Pluhar has spent the past year caring for Batman during his cancer treatment. After months of good progress reports, Wednesday was his final visit her lab for a brain scan.
...Batman's recovery is remarkable. The 13-year-old shepard mix had a very aggressive form of brain cancer called a glioma. It's the same type of cancer Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy is battling.
Gliomas are tricky to treat because they send out little tentacles that infiltrate other parts of the brain, and surgery alone usually isn't sufficient to cure a glioma.
So university researchers from the vet school, the medical school and the Masonic Cancer Center devised a treatment for Batman that began with surgery. After that, the dog received gene therapy and a custom-made, anti-cancer vaccine designed to boost his immune system.
So far, the university's experiment has been nothing but good news for Batman...
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/08/05/canine-brain-cancer/