Author: V. Iyengar, Silicon Valley Chapter

A collaborative study between scientists at the University of California, San Francisco and the University of California, Davis, saw the completion of its first clinical trial, and the results are promising. 

This study tests the efficacy of a new drug targeting one of the most aggressive cancers in cats : squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). According to a study conducted at the Centre for Small Animal Studies, cats with SCC typically only survive for around 1.5 months after receiving their SCC diagnosis. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy do little to stop the spread of SCC. 

The drug being tested is very novel, the first of its kind to target a protein called STAT3, which promotes tumor growth by activating genes that are involved in cell division and the survival of cancer cells. 

Over one quarter of the cats tested with the drug went on to live 6+ months longer than they would have with no treatment, a result that inspired hope in Tina Thomas, the owner of Jak, a cat who went on to live for 8 more months after receiving his SCC diagnosis. In an interview with UC Davis, Thomas expressed gratitude for this study and for the success of this drug, stating, “It was invaluable to us to give him [Jak] time where he was comfortable and could enjoy being around his family. He loved being under our Christmas tree and giving him that one more Christmas, which I don’t think he would have had otherwise, just made us feel good.”

The results look equally hopeful to the scientists in charge of this study, as this drug represents one of the first successful treatments for SCC. In an interview, Katherine Skorupski, a professor of clinical medical oncology at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine said, “One of the struggles I’ve had my entire career is that cats with this cancer—there is really nothing we can do.We see these cats, we give the bad news, and we do our best to keep them comfortable until they are euthanized. So the fact that we would have something, anything, that might help these cats is so exciting.”

The researchers are also using the function and mechanism of this drug in cats to learn more about how it works, and they hope to be able to adapt it to be effective for humans with head and neck cancer.