Drug "Vincristine" is used in the treatment of malignant tumors and is a plant-based drug. It can be used not only for the treatment of cancer in humans, but also in animals, in particular in cats and dogs.
Pharmacological properties
According to the instructions, "Vincristine" is a vinca rosea alkaloid, representing the pharmacological category of cytostatic agents. The main active substance binds to the tubulin protein and contributes to the disruption of the microtubular cellular apparatus and the rupture of the mitotic spindle. The drug is able to suppress mitosis in metaphase. It also interferes with glutamate metabolism and possible nucleic acid production, and has an immunosuppressive effect.
Careful Introduction
Intrathecal administration of this medical product is prohibited. When administering, care must be taken topreventing extravasation. The dosage of the drug "Vincristine" for dogs is selected individually in each case.
Negative reactions
Negative reactions can occur from the nervous system of animals, the digestive tract, urinary, respiratory, endocrine, hematopoietic systems.
Local side effects of Vincristine for dogs: hair loss, azoospermia, phlebitis, necrosis when the drug gets under the skin.
When is the drug used? We will talk about this later.
According to the instructions, Vincristine is used in veterinary medicine in the treatment of the following malignant neoplasms in animals.
Superficial oncological process in the bladder
In such a case, surgical removal of the pathological formation and prophylactic chemotherapy (intravesical administration of chemical drugs) are used. With this scheme, the drug "Vincristine" or its analogues - "Mitomycin", "Doxorubicin", "Tiotel" are used. In addition, combined chemotherapy (chemoradiation) is prescribed, which is most effective in the first two stages of the development of the disease and only in combination with radiation.
Breast cancer
In such a case, therapy is carried out with a combination of medications using Doxorubicin, Cyclophosphamide and Vincristine, but this is extremely dangerous for the animal and rarely leads to recovery. With a similar oncological processThe combination of Vincristine and Adriamycin shows the best results. Thus, in 50% of sick cats, a slight remission or prolongation of the progression of a malignant tumor can be achieved.
Venereal sarcoma in dogs
With this malignant tumor, the use of the drug "Vincristine" is most appropriate. The drug shows quite good results of therapy, and with the help of combined treatment with modulators of the antitumor activity of cytostatics, the effectiveness of this medication can be increased to 100 percent.
Thus, the drug "Vincristine" for dogs in clinical veterinary medicine is used in most cases in the treatment of venereal transmissible sarcoma.
Use of the drug for sarcoma in dogs
Canine Venereal Transmissible Sarcoma (Sticker's tumor) is a malignant, sexually transmitted disease of the genital organs of dogs.
The main symptom of this disease is bloody discharge from the animal's genital tract, which can be confused with the onset of estrus. In addition, there is also damage to the mucous membranes of the mouth and nose. The skin form of the pathological process is known, when a pronounced skin lesion develops. With the defeat of the nasal cavity of the dog, a characteristic sign of the disease is sneezing and the discharge of bloody mucus from the nose. In some cases, an oncological tumor in the nasopharynx can provoke difficultyrespiratory functions.
In transmissible sarcoma, conservative and surgical treatment is used, which consists in removing the neoplasm within he althy tissues. If even a minimal number of malignant tumor cells are left on the mucous membrane, a relapse (re-growth of the tumor) is possible. So the surgical method of therapy does not guarantee the recovery of the dog. The best option is considered a combination of conservative and surgical methods of treatment.
When conducting conservative treatment, a combination of antitumor drugs (chemotherapy) with the use of Vincristine according to the instructions is most often used. A significant disadvantage of such treatment is the increased toxicity of pharmacological preparations.
The use of the drug simultaneously with modulators of antitumor activity ("Sarcolitin") significantly increases the effectiveness of chemotherapy and significantly reduces the number of courses. In addition, the positive effect of the drug is that it significantly reduces the risk of any side effects associated with chemotherapy.
In accordance with the instructions for use for "Vincristine", until complete recovery, as a rule, from 3 to 8 therapeutic courses are required, depending on the characteristics of the disease and the condition of the animal. Throughout the course of treatment, it is recommended to monitor the condition of the dog. Analysis before each courseblood, and the specialist evaluates the condition of her body. If it does not allow the next course of treatment, then it is postponed until the veterinarian decides to continue chemotherapy. Stop treatment procedures with the complete disappearance of a malignant tumor. To make sure it disappears, you need to take a control biopsy or conduct an additional course of chemotherapy.
What else can you learn from the instructions for use for Vincristine for dogs?
Features of chemotherapy in animals
Chemotherapy is a method of treating malignant tumors, which consists in the use of special medications (cytostatics), which have the ability to slow down the growth of tumor cells and prevent the subsequent spread of the malignant process throughout the body. In animals (dogs and cats), such treatment is carried out with the help of the drug Vincristine. Instructions for the drug must be strictly followed.
Chemotherapy is carried out in most cases in the initial stages of the oncological process or in a number of pathologies such as lymphosarcoma, as the main therapeutic technique. Most often, this disease is subjected to chemotherapy, as well as a variety of soft tissue sarcomas in animals, advanced stages of breast cancer, and others.
Instructions for the use of "Vincristine" for animals
Chemotherapy is considered a method that should not be taken as a panacea. Since not all tumor malignant processes are sensitiveto such therapy, the range of such diseases is extremely limited. And it is more limited in animals than in humans.
Chemotherapy patients go through high-dose treatment courses, which are fraught with serious complications requiring inpatient stay and associated with immunosuppression, when patients cannot contact the environment and they need a special isolation room. For animals, this is not always possible. The range of diseases in cats and dogs and the chemotherapeutic drugs used in their treatment is several times less than in humans. In addition, there are significant physiological differences between them and humans. Consequently, the treatment regimens with the medical agent "Vincristine" have their own characteristics. As a rule, the veterinarian prescribes a therapy that will correspond to the type of specific cancer in a particular animal.
The dosage of "Vincristine" for dogs in mono mode is 0.5-0.7 mg/m2, per 20 kg (0.74 m2) is 0.3 - 0.5 mg.
Contraindications for use
It is necessary to understand that chemotherapeutic measures for animals with the help of the drug "Vincristine" are prescribed depending on the stage of the pathological process, taking into account the clinical condition of the sick animal. The functionality of the excretory organs (kidneys, liver) and hematological parameters are also assessed. Thus, every caseconsidered by a veterinarian on an individual basis, based on the history and condition of the dog or cat.
Is chemotherapy possible at home?
This method of treatment with Vincristine in animals involves clinical supervision by a veterinarian. Such an animal requires monitoring of the condition throughout life or the entire pathological process. For different schemes and malignant tumors, the probability of developing concomitant complications varies from 20 to 70%, but in addition, there is a need to change therapeutic regimens depending on the result obtained. In some cases, a whole team of specialists and the latest equipment are required for timely and competent assistance to the animal, although in the early stages of the development of the disease, chemotherapy with a medication can also be carried out at home under the control of the owners of the animal.
Result of chemotherapy drug
In the treatment of cancer in a dog or cat, the main focus is not always on increasing life expectancy. In most cases, we are talking about the normalization of its quality. That is, such a therapeutic technique in animals is aimed not only at prolonging life in numerical terms, but more at providing the most comfortable and satisfactory quality of well-being and life for him.
Situations are often observed when an animal with cancer has concomitantdiseases in the form of chronic heart, kidney or liver failure. Accordingly, in some cases, chemotherapy may be an inappropriately risky therapeutic measure or may be associated with a variety of disorders that subsequently require serious treatment. Chemotherapy with the drug "Vincristine" is not a utilitarian method of treating all cancer problems in dogs and cats.
Does this technique lead to recovery - a rhetorical question. It does not guarantee a 100% favorable outcome for every animal. There are times when the result exceeds all expectations of veterinarians and owners, and sometimes vice versa. The effectiveness of the drug can vary from very good to unsatisfactory. That is, everything is relative, since in a number of malignant diseases the stabilization of the pathological process is already considered an excellent result.
Complications
According to the instructions for "Vincristine" for dogs and cats, treatment in some cases is associated with a certain percentage of complications. However, with a timely response from the doctor or the owner of the animal, they very rarely lead to death. The doctor can change, alternate, and even stop chemotherapy courses. It is impossible to discuss this in a standard way, since there are too many nuances that the veterinarian needs to take into account in each specific case.
Reviews about "Vincristine" for dogs and cats
Reviews on the use of this pharmacological agent in relation toanimals suffering from cancer, a very limited number. This is due to the fact that such pathologies in cats and dogs are quite rare and many owners of such animals prefer to either put their pet to sleep in order to avoid its suffering, or are inattentive to this problem. However, the reviews describe this drug as highly effective, and in most cases it helped in the fight against malignant tumors in dogs and cats, especially in the early stages of their development.
We reviewed the instructions for use for Vincristine for cats and dogs.
