The good peeps of Puppy Up Foundation are funding this study. If you're in Wisconsin and coping with an osteosarcoma diagnosis, it's worth checking out.

Stereotactic Radiation Therapy for Pain Relief and Immune Modification in Dogs with Limb Osteosarcoma

Radiation therapy’s primary use for canine osteosarcoma has been with a palliative intent to alleviate pain. Stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT) is a highly accurate radiation delivery technique that potentially allows us to give a higher radiation dose per treatment in fewer treatment sessions. This study will deliver 3 radiation treatments over 3 days and assess pain relief with orthopedic exam, force platform analysis and client questionnaires. The primary aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of stereotactic radiation therapy to alleviate pain. We hypothesize that most dogs will experience significant pain relief.

Large doses of radiation per treatment have also been proposed to stimulate an immune response against the cancer. To evaluate this, we aim to measure changes in proteins released from the tumor or its environment by collecting blood samples before, during and after the radiation therapy.

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