Editor’s note: Have you seen the Dogster print magazine in stores? Or in the waiting room of your vet’s office? This article appeared in our February-March issue. Subscribe to Dogster and get the bimonthly magazine delivered to your home.

Chagrin Falls Pet Clinic in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, is the first and only U.S. animal hospital to participate in a clinical trial for synchronization immunotherapy to treat cancer in dogs. Immunotherapy harnesses the power of the body’s immune system to fight back against cancer.

Immunotherapy is frequently used in conjunction with surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation to treat cancer. Synchronization immunotherapy involves specifically timing immunotherapy treatment with the dog’s own immune cycle.

Initial results of the trial are promising, according to lead researcher Carol Osborne, D.V.M., who is working in conjunction with Biotempus Limited, a private life sciences company based in Melbourne, Australia.

“Current research and ongoing clinical trials have shown that by locking the immune system in the ‘on’ position, we are able to harness its vast power and use that to manipulate successful cancer cell therapy,” she said. “Many of today’s best and brightest feel that synchronized immunotherapy not only holds the key to successful cancer treatment but also has the ability to potentially eliminate this dreaded disease for society as a whole.”