The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies has launched a clinical trial into the efficacy of a berry-derived drug to treat canine oral melanoma.
The drug, tigilanol tiglate, is sourced from the berries of the blushwood tree, found only in rainforests in Queensland, Australia. The chemical is produced by Australian trial sponsors Qbiotics and sold as Stelfonta in the UK and beyond.
The drug was first approved in 2020 for treatment of Mast Cell Tumours (MCTs), a common condition in dogs which normally presents as skin cancer. Injected directly into a tumour, the chemical deprives cancerous cells of nutrients and enables the immune system to respond against tumours elsewhere.
The most common form of mouth cancer among dogs, canine oral melanoma is aggressive and has few observable symptoms, complicating treatment. Tiglanol tiglate could reduce or eliminate the need for invasive treatments like jaw surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
Professor Kelly Blacklock, specialist in soft tissue surgeries for small animals, is hopeful: “If successful, this treatment could transform the way we approach cancer therapy in veterinary medicine, sparing many dogs from the need for surgery.”
Blushwood is relatively scarce, but a 2022 breakthrough in synthesis of tiglanol tiglate from more common plants may improve future availability of the drug.
Other species stand to benefit too. In a statement from the University of Edinburgh, they state Qbiotics has already explored administering the drug in humans. Blacklock notes that this study could yield, “insights that could benefit human medicine as well.” In the same statement, owners were encouraged to consult their vet to see if their dogs were eligible for the trails.
“CAES Analytical Chemistry Lab” by Idaho National Laboratory is licensed under CC BY 2.0.