ImmuneFx Cancer Vaccine

This is just incredible! Finally researchers have found a way to offer pets a cancer vaccine and not a general one, but one which targets the type of cancer the animal has 😮

According to Morphogenesis, the company which developed the vaccine …

ImmuneFx cancer vaccine is a multi-indication cancer immunotherapy offered by Veterinary Oncology Services, Inc. The immune system, which normally functions to recognize, seek and destroy foreign invaders such as bacteria and viruses, does not always recognize cancer cells as “dangerous” thus allowing the cancer cells to multiply. ImmuneFx is a cancer vaccine immunotherapy that acts by “educating” the immune system to recognize cancer cells as dangerous and eliminate them. The use of ImmuneFx is not limited to any specific cancer type and has been used to treat a variety of cancers in cats, dogs and horses.

There have been no adverse reactions observed in any of the dogs, cats and horses treated with the ImmuneFx vaccine. However, as a precaution, the first time the vaccine is administered, a dose of diphenhydramine (antihistamine) is administered, and the pet is observed for at least 4 hours before being discharged. If no reaction occurs, your veterinarian will decide whether to pretreat with diphenhydramine at subsequent visits or keep the pet for observation.

The vaccine may be effective in preventing or delaying recurrence or metastases of a tumor that have been surgically removed. It may also result in a reduction of size in a tumor that cannot be surgically removed. Response to therapy may be noted as soon as 4-6 weeks after starting therapy. Although there have been remarkable successes in cases utilizing ImmuneFx, like other therapies, the ImmuneFx vaccine may be more effective in early stage disease. However, it is an exciting new treatment modality that offers improved survival in multiple types of cancer.

I’ve tried googling to see if this vaccine had been tested on ferrets but I hit a wall, so guess not 🙁

Considering our babies tend to develop so many different types of cancers, I would have thought they would have been the ideal test subject!

I have fingers and toes crossed that this treatment will help our babies live to a much longer life than they do these days!

UPDATE : Sadly all the information about this cancer vaccine is 5 years old and I haven’t found anything on the website to say it’s being used by vets.

If you are interested in reading more about it, please go HERE.