Reno – A Trailblazer in OSA Study

Greyhounds may blaze up our backyards with zoomies, but Reno is a trailblazer of a different sort.

His participation in the GHI osteosarcoma study with UPENN, is a vital part of moving this area of research forward with the ultimate goal of developing a better treatment for dogs with osteosarcoma.

Many of us already know greyhounds and other large breed dogs are disproportionately affected by osteosarcoma, an aggressive type of bone cancer, in mid-to-late life. Currently standard of care treatment consists of amputation of the affected limb and follow-up chemotherapy. However, unfortunately the cancer cells often spread early throughout the body and most dogs eventually succumb to their disease. Clinician scientists at UPENN are developing a method to grow immune cells known as “T cells” extracted from the patient’s own tumor, to develop a cellular therapy that will be infused back into the patient and will track down remaining cancer cells and eliminate them.

Reno is a GHI star, leading the way with his participation in the study. In January of 2024, Reno was diagnosed with osteosarcoma after his pet parents noticed him limping. His leg was amputated within 10 days of his diagnosis by Dr. Moore at Moore Veterinary Hospital. Reno donated a portion of his tumor from the amputated leg to Dr. Mason and her team at UPENN, while the rest of the tumor was sent out for pathology. After seeing a veterinary oncologist, a plan was determined for Reno. He received an alternative therapy in March of this year and wrapped up his last chemo treatment in May.

“… at this point he is doing great and has adapted to life with one less leg. He has completed his chemotherapy and vaccine doses,” said Ken and Caroline Abner, Reno’s pet parents. “His chest x-ray still looked great as of his May 13 checkup.”

Reno’s recovery was difficult but with the help of Dr. Moore and her team, he “has adapted very well, and seems very happy and even more affectionate than prior to his cancer.”

“We are happy with our decision and all the help Dr. Moore and all others engaged have provided to get Reno to his new normal. We hope Reno gets as much time as possible out of this decision (which likely would have been a couple of months with no action). We are now 6 months past the diagnosis, and it seems like forever ago. We are hopeful that Reno’s participation in the Greyhound Health Initiative study… can help others have good outcomes and much more time with their greys or other dogs with similar diagnosis.” – Ken & Caroline Abner

Although not available as a therapy at this time, Reno’s pet parents’ decision to donate a portion of his tumor to begin the research to develop a new approach to treating osteosarcoma is already bearing fruit. The UPENN team were able to grow immune cells (tumor infiltrating lymphocytes) from his tumor in the laboratory and they are now testing to see if these immune cells are reactive against the tumor and able to kill his own tumor cells. Reno is a hero and a trailblazer! His tumor tissue donation will hopefully help to develop TIL therapy for other greys in the future and help them overcome their disease! The study requires more samples to be submitted so that the UPENN team can optimize the generation of these cells, which needs to happen before they can be used as a therapy.

Please consider joining Reno and donating tumor tissue from your dog’s osteosarcoma – together we will fight osteosarcoma and we will win! If you can help with this important research, please email us at osaresearch@greyhoundhealthinitiative.org.