Health-related quality of life in dogs treated with electrochemotherapy and/or interleukin-12 gene electrotransfer

Milevoj, Nina (author), Tozon, Nataša (author), Ličen, Sabina (author), Lampreht Tratar, Urša (author), Serša, Gregor (author), Čemažar, Maja (author)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the owners' perception of health-related qual- ity of life (HRQoL) of dogs after treatment with electrochemotherapy (ECT) alone or combined with interleukin-12 gene electrotransfer (IL-12 GET) and/or surgery. The owners of 44 dogs with histologically different tumours were offered the »Cancer Treatment Form« at least one month after treatment. The owners assessed their dogs’ quality of life (QoL) after treatment as good (mean 7.4) (from 1–very poor to 10–excellent) and the general health compared with the initial diagnosis of cancer as improving (mean 3.9) (from 1–worse to 5–better). The assessment of the current QoL was better within the group of dogs treated with non-invasive treatment (ECT and/ or IL-12 GET only), compared with those that received invasive treatment, where, in addition to ECT and/or IL-12 GET, surgery was performed (p < .05). The owners of dogs that achieved an objective response (OR) to the treatment assessed the QoL as significantly better compared with those whose dogs did not respond to the treat- ment (p < .05). The majority of the owners (86.4%) would opt for the therapy again, regardless of the financial costs. In conclusion, the results of this study demonstrate that the majority of the owners of dogs assessed their dogs’ QoL as good and felt that it improved after the treatment, especially in dogs, treated with non-invasive treatment and in those that responded to the treatment. This supports further use of ECT and IL-12 GET as suitable methods for the treatment of selected tumours in veterinary medicine.

• Language: English
• Keywords: Dogs, electrochemotherapy, gene electrotransfer, health, interleukin-12
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: VF - Veterinary Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2020
• Number of pages: Str. 1-9
• Numbering: Vol. 6
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-116657
• UDC: 636.09:602.6/7
• ISSN on article: 2053-1095
• DOI: 10.1002/vms3.232
• COBISS.SI-ID: 4920442
• Publication date in RUL: 01.06.2020

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Veterinary medicine and science
• Shortened title: Vet. med. sci.
• Publisher: J. Wiley & Sons
• ISSN: 2053-1095
• COBISS.SI-ID: 525255961

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 01.06.2020