Response of canine transmissible venereal tumor to various vincristine presentations

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the response of naturally infected dogs with transmissible venereal tumor (TVT) to treatment with two sources of vincristine: patented and generic. Twelve naturally infected dogs diagnosed with TVT by cytology and PCR were randomly assigned to a weekly treatment with vincristine at a dose of 0.025 mg/kg until two consecutive cytological evaluations resulted negative. Cytology tests and haemograms were performed prior to vincristine applications to evaluate adverse reaction to treatment. In both groups, a maximum of five applications were applied to obtain a successful treatment. The minimum number of applications in the Patent group was four while in the Generic group was three, although without significant difference between groups in number of applications or time for healing. Dogs in both groups showed some kind of adverse reactions to the treatment but without statistical difference between groups. There was no need to discontinue the treatment in any case. It is concluded that the patent and generic presentations of vincristine are equally effective for treating TVT in dogs.