Cancer – A word that can change your world in an instant. We don’t discriminate. I don’t care if you’re old or young, rich or poor, kind or mean. It’s a great equalizer. It is also one area of medical research that is constantly moving. This week we were fortunate to speak with one of the pioneers of extraordinary new weapons in the war against cancer, both humans and pets.
For better or worse, artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a part of our lives. The art penetration is not necessarily well received, but AI’s unparalleled processing and problem-solving capabilities are being used by Dr. Ilona Holcomb and his team. Ripe They do it with heart in their sleeves to provide customized chemotherapy treatment protocols for individual pets.
Chemotherapy for pets?
When we hear the words “chemotherapy” and “pet” in the same sentence, the initial reaction could be one of fear, depicting the devastated effects this treatment course could have on human patients. Masu. However, when your pet receives chemotherapy, the drugs and doses are carefully calculated to minimize their side effects. The outcome of this is that although we often do not achieve the full treatment of veterinary chemotherapy frequently, the length and quality of life of many pets has been greatly improved by receiving it.
There are about 12 drugs used in chemotherapy treatment protocols, but most of them are reserved for unresponsive or recurrent cases. Traditionally, patient treatment protocols are based on a specific cancer morphology, and which combination of drugs achieves the best results. This can involve certain trial and error that replaces different chemicals depending on how the patient and how the cancer reacts.
What is inexplicable is that the same samples (blood, lymph node aspirate) that are normally used for diagnosis are taken and AI programs created using years of statistics, case studies, and patient results. , to test each specific cancer. Individual. The goal is to know that it’s not just how it is Maybe It deals with specific chemotherapy treatments, how does it respond?
Cancer culture and sensitivity testing
When dealing with infection, the key steps in accurate treatment and diagnosis are called culture and sensitivity tests. This is where bacteria samples are grown in labs, identify them and test which antibiotics eliminate them. In many ways, the processes used in Imprimed are the same (although infinitely complicated!). Cancer cells are isolated, identified, performed via a combination of multiple treatments to see which drugs work best, and the applicable drugs are being treated. Within a week, your vet will have a Personalized Prediction Profile For your pet.
Most of the side effects of chemotherapy occur because the cytotoxic chemicals used kill not only cancer cells but all cells. These drugs are the most effective against rapidly dividing cells, so cancer cells are the ones that are most affected, but like cancer itself, these cytotoxic chemicals can be used to control cancer and non-cancer cells. Does not identify.
These risks are minimized by using drugs that we know are particularly effective against this individual’s cells.
Which cancer works?
At this stage, this AI service is subject to feline lymphoma and Lymphoma in dogs and leukemia. Plans are already underway to extend this to other common cancers found in cats and dogs, such as mast cell tumors. With the virtually limitless ability of AI to test cancer tissue, we hope to find treatments for several forms of cancer that are currently not responding to chemotherapy, exploring various drug formulations and combinations .
Click here to read one of the company’s success stories. The Story of Joki.
It has to be expensive, right?
These days it is impossible to hear about such a great advancement without ironically assuming that everyone except the very rich is inaccessible. However, Dr. Holcomb is a confessed soft pet lover who wants to make this technology available to everyone, and the base price for a comprehensive personalized chemotherapy prediction profile is usually around from a veterinarian. It’ll be $1,000.*. This may seem like a lot of money, but given the complexity of this technique and the time to save time correctly for the first time in treating your dog, it actually makes a lot of sense.
An additional benefit of this test is that it can avoid “trial and error” treatments, minimise the risk of recurrence and the potential need for additional drugs, and reduce overall treatment costs .
*As of February 2025. Indicator prices only. Excludes additional costs (e.g. consultation, sampling fees, etc.). Please contact your veterinarian for more information.
It’s refreshing to come across an ethically run company that appears to care about your pet and their parents, and we hope it’s just as it is.
Imprimed services are available nationwide and internationally, so if your pet has been diagnosed with cancer, Talk to your vet About investigating this option.
Featured Image Credits: Natali_mis, Shutterstock
