2016 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

Perforation is relatively common in cats with GIT mass lesions caused by intermediate or large cell lymphoma. However, the findings of this exploratory study suggest that acute perforation after induction of chemotherapy is not common. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are a commonly used therapy in both human and veterinary medicine. The incidence of proteinuria in humans receiving VEGFR-TKIs is reported to be as high as 18.7%. In veterinary medicine, the TKI masitinib mesylate has been shown to induce a protein-losing nephropathy in a subset of patients. Documented reports of proteinuria with the use of toceranib phosphate are scarce. The purpose of this study was to describe the overall incidence of proteinuria associated with the use of toceranib phosphate. Medical records were retrospectively reviewed from September 2009 through October 2014 for canine patients with any type of malignancy receiving toceranib phosphate for a minimum of 3 weeks and a urinalysis and urine protein creatinine ratio (UPC) when indicated. Fifty-five cases met the inclusion criteria. The median dose of toceranib phosphate was 2.6 mg/kg (range, 2.1-2.8 mg/kg) given on Monday/Wednesday/ Friday. Prednisone was used in conjunction with toceranib phosphate in 26 dogs with a median dose of 0.5 mg/kg (range 0.25-1.5 mg/kg) given on Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday/Sunday. In the toceranib phosphate plus prednisone group, proteinuria developed in 7 dogs at a median of 69 days (range, 15-122 days) with a median UPC of 0.8 (range, 0.6-1.1). In the toceranib phosphate alone group, 5 dogs developed proteinuria at a median of 47 days (range, 19-626 days) with a median UPC of 0.7 (range, 0.6-4.9). The use of toceranib phosphate was associated with development of proteinuria in a subset of patients and careful monitoring including frequent serial urine protein-creatinine ratios is recommended. The present study was designed to reach a better understanding of the biologic behavior of feline oral squamous cell carcinoma (FOSCC) by evaluating a variety of growth factor pathways known to contribute to aggressive behavior in many cancers. In addition, we evaluated a novel transcription factor, Bcl11b, a biomarker for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).