8 Mar 2022
RVC Equine Referral Hospital says it has become the first clinic in the UK to offer a new melanoma treatment for horses that targets lesions unable to be surgically removed.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
A melanoma treatment for horses that specifically targets lesions that cannot be surgically removed has been launched at the RVC Equine Referral Hospital.
The hospital said it was the first clinic in the UK to offer the treatment, which it said will improve the way horses are treated for melanoma and lead to a better quality of life for those affected.
The nodular skin disease commonly affects older grey horses of any breed or gender, with 80% of greys likely to have at least one melanoma in their lifetimes.
The treatment focuses specifically on melanomas affecting the parotid region and other sensitive areas not traditionally amenable to surgery, and where no effective treatment option was available.
Treatment involves thermofield hyperthermia, which transfers electromagnetic energy deep into the biological tissue, and intratumoral chemotherapy.
Funded by the RVC Animal Care Trust, horses meeting the criteria receive three treatments, one week apart. Chemotherapeutic drugs are injected into the melanoma under sedation, followed by hyperthermia using a thermofield unit.
The procedure takes one hour and is followed by a second hyperthermia treatment the following day before the horse is discharged. The process is repeated for three treatment rounds.
Michael Heweston, senior lecturer in equine medicine at the RVC, said: “Although thermofield hyperthermia combined with intratumoral chemotherapy is a relatively new treatment, I have been impressed with the response in the horses we have treated thus far and I am optimistic for the future.
“We will be collecting data over the coming months to report on its effectiveness.”
Full information is available online, or case referrals can be made by email at [email protected] or by telephoning 01707 666297.
