Intralymphatic autochthonous tumor cell vaccine in canine lymphoma.

Canine lymphoma is analogous to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and is responsive to similar cytotoxic agents. The purpose of this study was to investigate a tumor cell vaccine delivered via peripheral lymphatics as maintenance therapy after induction of remission with chemotherapy. Thirty dogs with histologically confirmed lymphoma were treated with chemoimmunotherapy, and were induced into remission with combination chemotherapy, followed by intralymphatic (IL) autochthonous tumor cell vaccines as maintenance therapy. All dogs received two cycles of chemotherapy and at least three vaccine infusions. The median survival was 13 months with 11/30 (36%) still alive at 1-3 years follow-up. The median remission duration was 16 weeks while on IL vaccines alone. The survival time and remission duration is longer than previously reported in canine lymphoma.