Ny Luong: Histotripsy for osteosarcoma brings temporary relief for a good dog

This piece was written in the fall of 2024 by GRAD 5144 (Communicating Science) student Ny Luong as part of an assignment to write a personal narrative about her research.

Once upon a time, there was a very sweet, giant breed dog. Despite her size, she was very gentle, calm, and affectionate. The dog's favorite activity was playing in the snow with her other doggie friends. 

    One day, there was a pain on her front leg that made it hurt to run with her friends. The pain got worse and worse, and the dog had trouble walking. The dog's parents brought her to their veterinarian and found out that she had osteosarcoma, a type of primary bone cancer that is very prevalent in large breed dogs. 

    The vet told them that the only option at that point was to have her limb amputated to get rid of the main cancer; unfortunately, the dog would still be likely to suffer from metastatic disease. The median survival time for dogs with osteosarcoma, even with primary tumor removal and chemotherapy, is 10 to 12 months, with metastasis to the lungs being the main cause of death. And even though large and giant breed dogs can have good function after a limb amputation, an amputation was not a medically appropriate choice for this particular dog due to other medical issues. 

    As her parents were looking for other treatment options for this dog, they found a clinical trial that aims to help patients like her. They brought her to the Animal Care and Research Center at Virginia Tech to seek help. The dog was enrolled into the “treat and leave” study they had read about in which the research team used histotripsy to treat her bone tumor without amputation. 

    Histotripsy is a form of focused ultrasound that can be used to create mechanical force and destroy tumor cells without generating heat.  More importantly, no surgical removal of the tumor is necessary. Histotripsy could also alert the immune system to find and kill other cancer cells that escaped from the primary site and traveled elsewhere in the body. The long-term goal of the ongoing research with histotripsy is to effectively treat both the primary tumor and metastatic disease in osteosarcoma. 

    When the dog first came to the trial, she could not bear any weight on her affected leg. It was incredibly painful for her to walk. Even so, the dog was still the sweetest girl. She greeted everyone who passed by her in the hospital. After several histotripsy treatments, the dog was able to put more weight on her front limb, and her parents reported she was much happier.

    After the treatment, the dog came back every month for a checkup, and she did not have metastatic disease in her lungs for more than six months. Normally, dogs develop lung metastases within three months of the diagnosis of the disease.

    Unfortunately, the dog ultimately developed lung metastases and tumor recurrence of the primary tumor in the bone, and her parents decided to let her go. The parents told the research team that they appreciated the 6-month period of extra time they were able to have with their dog and that she had lived the best life they could provide her. She gained 10 pounds because she got all the treats that she wanted.

    It was meaningful for us to help this dog enjoy the last months of her life. This dog's story is the motivation for our research team to keep developing histotripsy as a novel technology to save dogs with osteosarcoma like this one.