First cancer drug for dogs

The first drug specifically developed to treat cancer in dogs has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Palladia, made by Pfizer Animal Health Inc., can be used to treat canine cutaneous (skin-based) mast cell tumors, a type of cancer that causes about 20 percent of skin tumors in dogs, the FDA said. Canine mast cell tumors can appear small and insignificant, but can be a very serious form of cancer in dogs.
Common side effects associated with Palladia are diarrhea, decrease or loss of appetite, lameness, weight loss and blood in the stool.
“This cancer drug approval for dogs is an important step forward for veterinary medicine,” Bernadette Dunham, director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, said in a news release.
“Prior to this approval, veterinarians had to rely on human (cancer) drugs, without knowledge of how safe or effective they would be for dogs. Today’s approval offers dog owners, in consultation with their veterinarians, an option for treatment of their dog’s cancer,” Dunham said.