TITLE:
Clinical Effects of a Plant Extract Mixture Containing Rhus verniciflua and Other Herbs in Tumor Bearing Dogs
AUTHORS:
Francisco Clemente-Vicario, C. Guillermo Couto, Kohei Suruga, Yasuhiro Komatsu, C. A. Tony Buffington, William C. Kisseberth
KEYWORDS:
Rhus verniciflua, Dog, Cancer, Complementary and Alternative Medicine
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Cancer Therapy,
Vol.7 No.7,
June
28,
2016
ABSTRACT: Dog owners are increasingly seeking treatment when their pets develop
cancers. As in human cancer patients, dogs with cancer are commonly treated
with complementary and alternative therapies, including herbal medicines and
nutritional supplements. A novel antitumor agent was developed from six
different herbs including Rhus
verniciflua (Rv-PEM01). The components were established from traditional
herbal medicine and designed to affect antitumor activity and maintain host
immune function. Previous studies identified anti-proliferative activity in
human, murine and canine cancer cell lines. In this clinical study the safety
and tolerability of Rv-PEM01 were evaluated in pet dogs with spontaneously
occurring cancers. Twelve dogs were treated orally daily for 30 days in
escalating dose (4 - 10 mg/kg orally once daily) cohorts. Rv-PEM01 was well
tolerated; only transient mild elevations in BUN were observed in 2 dogs.
Although tumor response was not a primary endpoint for this study, stable
disease was maintained for 30 days in 5 (42%) of the dogs. In conclusion,
Rv-PEM01 was found to be safe and well tolerated in the dosage range tested. Future studies should evaluate higher dosages of
Rv-PEM01 in dogs with cancer, and specifically address other potential benefits
of Rv-PEM01 in canine cancer patients, including correlative assessments of immune
function, quality of life and owner satisfaction.