I know this news is scary even though the path report of the tumor removal itself was encouraging, and her x-rays are clear. The melanoma vaccine sounds very promising - are there any downsides to it? If this vaccine is as successful as it sounds, maybe more dogs can avoid having to endure the awfulchemo and radiation treatments, which has never seemed to be truly successful in the cases I have seen.
Go Pepper!
I've googled and saw a 2003 study done at Sloan-Kettering. Nine dogs with advanced melanoma were given four biweekly injections of human tyrosinase DNA vaccine that was constructed at MSKCC's Gene Transfer and Somatic Cell Engineering Facility. The dogs were injected with the vaccine using the Biojector-2000, a needle-less delivery device. They showed no side effects or toxicities with only a mild inflammatory reaction observed at the injection site. Two showed no evidence of disease when they were checked after completion of the vaccine regimen. Four dogs survived for over 400 days with the longest survivor still alive after more than 615 days. The median survival was 389 days.
Note this study is from dogs with advanced melanoma. Pepper's report said early melanoma.
I also saw another website where someone said her dog had just finished the four injections. The only side effect was dry mouth.
One thing I've learned is that the melanocytes of black dogs have to produce more melanin because of the black pigment. So maybe since these cells are more active, these cells are more likely to experience uncontrolled growth which is what melanoma is?
Oh, and after the 4 injections, if a dog taking the vaccine is lucky enough to live that long, there will be $500 injections every 6 months. These can only be administered by an oncologist because the drug is so experimental, it doesn't have a name yet. Thank goodness Auburn is an easy drive with no Atlanta traffic to deal with. When our Weim was there for three weeks, we visited her every day because the vet said it might help her recover.
Thanks for your, and everyone else's, concern.