The Use of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine in the Treatment of 5 Cases of Neoplastic Bone Disease

Abstract

n veterinary medicine, neoplastic disease of bony origin is a frustrating disease to treat due to poor long- term prognosis and complications from conventional medical techniques. Osteosarcomas produce pathologic fractures, uncontrollable pain and invariably include metastasis despite use of surgical and chemotherapeutic modalities. Nasal chondrosarcomas include chronic infection, epistaxis, extensive local tissue destruction and rare metastasis. This case series reviews 5 clinical cases of osteosarcoma or nasal chondrosarcoma that were treated with Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine either as an alternative medical treatment or as part of an integrative medicine protocol. All 5 cases had malignant aggressive neoplasms with predicted poor quality of life and survival rates. In case 1 (metatarsal osteosarcoma), the dog had a good quality pain-free life for 21 months after diagnosis, greatly bettering the expected best-case scenario of 1 year and was euthanized due to unrelated illness. In case 2 (nasal chondrosarcoma), the dog has bested a median survival of 3 months when left untreated and has survived 38 months since initial presentation in good health. TCVM treatment in cases: 3 (appendicular osteosarcoma), 4 (maxillary osteosarcoma) and 5 (appendicular osteosarcoma) demonstrate the benefit of using this therapeutic modality to improve the quality of life in veterinary patients. All 3 of these patients went beyond the predicted survival rate, were maintained with reduced levels of pain and were able to eat and exercise until the last months of their disease.