Research Shows Telomir-Zn Might Slow Bone Cancer in Dogs

Telomir-Zn, developed by Telomir Pharmaceuticals, is an experimental cancer drug that showed promise against both human and canine osteosarcoma in preclinical testing at The Ohio State University. The drug worked on slowing the growth of cancer cells in in-vitro lab tests that were completed at the university’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Promising Research That Could Benefit People and Dogs

The study involved testing Telomir-Zn on three osteosarcoma cell line models, two of which were canine lines and one which was a human line. All of the lines exhibited inhibition of cancer growth at low drug concentrations. This provides quite a bit of hope because there aren’t many treatment options for dogs who are diagnosed with osteosarcoma.

Telomir-Zn affects how cells regulate copper and iron, and because there are several similarities between osteosarcoma in humans and in dogs, the treatment might be a good option for both species.  

Next Step: More Research

In dogs, osteosarcoma is one of the most common types of bone cancer. It also causes most of the primary bone tumors in large breeds. Because of the poor outcomes associated with this disease, any progress towards finding treatments is great news for pet parents and veterinarians.  

Because of the drug’s effectiveness at inhibiting cancer growth in-vitro, the next possible step may be to run in-vivo tests, with experts trying the drug on dogs with naturally occurring osteosarcoma to determine if it works as well as it did in-vitro.

The best part is that, in addition to helping dogs, this type of research could also be used to help humans with the same type of cancer, so it will be exciting and interesting to see what future studies show.  

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