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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鈥� 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 care he recovered
explained: 鈥淗e 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.鈥� "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鈥檚 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鈥檛 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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