Veterinary pilot study on focused ultrasound treatment of spontaneous canine and feline tumours: technical and feasibility assessment.

Purpose: Focused ultrasound (FUS) is currently in the limelight of veterinary medicine as a novel treatment modality for companion animals, offering significant benefits over traditional techniques. In this study, the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of FUS for the treatment of various spontaneous canine and feline tumours was investigated.

Methods: Dogs and cats diagnosed with naturally occurring tumours were recruited in the study based on certain eligibility criteria. Fifteen dogs and cats with superficial tumours at various anatomical locations including the belly, chest, shoulder, rump, and neck were enrolled. Treated tumours in pets were mammary, sarcoma, pressure-point comedones and lipoma. Tumours in enrolled pets were treated using an in-house Magnetic Resonance Imaging guided FUS (MRgFUS) robotic system integrating a 2.75 MHz single-element spherically focused transducer. Partial FUS ablations were delivered to targeted tumours using sonication protocols tailored to tumour volume and location. Following FUS, the tumours were surgically excised and sent for histological examination.

Results: FUS treatments were well-tolerated with no significant adverse events or off-target damages, with only one canine case experiencing mild erythema and superficial skin ulceration at the treated site. Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E)-stained slides revealed that well-demarcated areas of coagulative necrosis were effectively achieved at the targeted FUS regions in all treated cases.

Conclusion: Study findings demonstrate that FUS can be safely used for the management of various types of spontaneous canine and feline tumours, highlighting the promising potential of the technology as a valuable and versatile therapeutic approach for veterinary cancer patients.