Assessing a Novel Radiation Therapy for Oral Cancer

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is an aggressive cancer in the mouth of cats. OSCC often is difficult to identify until late disease stages, when the cancer is too large and invasive for surgery. The most effective treatment option for late-stage OSCC is radiation therapy. However, radiation is unlikely to provide a cure, has many side effects that affect quality of life and often only provides a few months of palliative benefit. In search of much-needed new treatments, researchers will evaluate a cutting-edge type of radiation therapy called lattice radiotherapy. With lattice radiotherapy, small parts inside the cancer are treated with very large doses but neighboring normal structures such as the skin, eye and mouth receive lower doses. In human studies, lattice radiotherapy has resulted in very mild side effects and partial or complete resolution of some cancers. Researchers hope for similar findings in cat patients that ultimately will help improve outcomes for cats with this painful and life-limiting cancer.