Evaluating an Approved Drug Combination Plus Immunotherapy in Canine Metastatic Osteosarcoma

​Principal Investigator: Dr. Daniel Regan

Disease: Canine Metastatic Osteosarcoma

Research Description: Metastasis remains the greatest challenge in osteosarcoma (OS) patient treatment. Lung metastasis almost exclusively accounts for disease recurrence and eventual mortality in OS patients, occurring on average only 1.6 years after diagnosis. Currently, there is no effective clinical action to take for these patients as current treatments have all failed to improve survival in metastatic OS patients. Dogs with metastatic osteosarcoma have seen clinical benefits from a repurposed drug combination of losartan and toceranib – so much so that this drug combination is now the basis of an ongoing pediatric osteosarcoma trial. The research team will add a targeted immunotherapy to this drug combination in an ongoing Phase 1 dose-finding canine comparative trial. They aim to enhance tumor response and provide long-term treatment for OS patients. If the trial yields positive results in canines, it holds the potential to advance into human clinical trials.

Funding Partners: Cures Within Reach and Dogs for Cures

CWR Funding Role: Participating