The relevance of the treatment of lung tumors in small domestic animals and the prospects for the use of targeted therapy for EGFR and ALK/ROS1 mutations on the example of clinical data from humane and veterinary medicine

Abstract

In the period from 2020 to 2023 was conducted a retrospective study of animal disease histories with lung neoplasia. 43 animals (15 dogs and 28 cats) were included in the study. Neoplasms were identified by instrumental and histopathological methods. Malignant lung tumors have different histological structure, differ in clinical course and treatment results. Surgery is the method of choice for dogs and cats with primary lung tumors. In humans, the surgical method is one of the main methods of treating lung cancer (LC). Since in 70% of cases LC develops without clinical signs, most cases of the trachea, bronchi and lung tumors are detected at IV stage not only in animals, but also in humans, which makes radical surgery impossible. The development of molecular biology methods leads to the development of new treatment methods based on the use of more effective antitumor drugs. One of the innovative methods of cancer treatment is targeted therapy. Molecular-oriented drugs block the growth of cancer cells by interfering with the mechanism of action of specific target molecules necessary for carcinogenesis and tumor growth. In veterinary medicine, surgical and chemotherapeutic methods of treatment are mainly used, while the latter does not show sufficient effectiveness. At the same time, in humane medicine for the treatment of lung cancer widely use targeted therapy, the effect of which is more accurate and effective. There is not much information in the available literature on the use of targeted therapy in animals and there are practically no studies on the treatment of inoperable LC in cats, which makes it relevant to conduct clinical studies on the use of targeted drugs in companion animals.