CHF Grant #03283

ABSTRACT: Bladder cancer in dogs causes longstanding pain and discomfort with eventual death from the inability to urinate. In some dogs diagnosed with bladder cancer, supportive treatment with urinary catheters to alleviate urinary obstruction and intravenous fluids to support general kidney health can improve quality of life for a short period of time. However, few treatment options exist that provide longer-term tumor control and most dogs will succumb to their disease shortly following diagnosis. As such, there remains a critical need for improving treatment strategies for dogs diagnosed with bladder cancer.

Current strategies to support dogs diagnosed with bladder cancer include pain medications, chemotherapy, and anti-inflammatory drugs. While these medical practices can help dogs with bladder cancer feel better, additional and superior treatment options should be explored including newer drugs and immune-stimulating strategies.

The purpose of this investigation is to test new forms of therapy for bladder cancer in dogs. The investigators hypothesize that treatment with Gilvetmab, an anti-PD-1 blocking antibody, will improve anticancer immune activity in dogs with bladder transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), and that combining Gilvetmab with epacadostat will further augment immune reactivity against macroscopic TCC burdens leading to impactful immune and cytoreductive activities. Findings will support the use of combined therapies to improve long-term treatment of dogs diagnosed with bladder cancer.