Prospective trial of metronomic chlorambucil chemotherapy in dogs with naturally occurring cancer.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the toxicoses and antitumor activity of metronomic chlorambucil at a dosage of 4 mg m(-2) daily in dogs with naturally occurring cancer. Thirty-six dogs were enrolled in the study. The protocol was well tolerated with no grade 3 or 4 toxicoses noted. Complete remission was achieved, and lasted over 35 weeks in three dogs (mast cell tumour, soft tissue sarcoma and thyroid carcinoma). Partial remission was noted in 1 dog with histiocytic sarcoma (39 weeks duration) for an overall remission rate of 11% (4 of 36). Stable disease was noted in 17 dogs (47%) with various other cancers. The median progression-free interval was 61 days, and the median survival time was 153 days. Chlorambucil given in a metronomic protocol showed antitumor activity in dogs with a variety of naturally occurring cancers.