Minimally Invasive Metastasectomy in Canines (MIMIC)

Chris Thomson, DVM, DACVS-SA from Ethos Veterinary Health will discuss the Minimally Invasive Metastasectomy in Canines (MIMIC) clinical trial which will assess the feasibility and tolerability of VATS for lung metastasis and eventually deliver this care as an outpatient procedure. In addition to assessing the therapeutic benefit in canine patients, the study will also pave the way to conduct accelerated studies to identify new drugs to prevent lung metastases in both human and canine osteosarcoma. The hypothesis that a cross-species approach to metastasis biology and drug development will improve outcomes has been widely discussed and adopted but has not delivered on this promise. Better alignment with the OS pediatric and comparative oncology approaches is needed to understand metastasis biology and optimize drug development. Until now, metastasectomy has rarely been performed in veterinary medicine due to the perceived invasiveness of the procedure in older large-breed dogs. Nonetheless, hints of a benefit to canine OS metastasectomy patients exist.Ethos Discovery, a non-profit incubator of scientific innovation, seeks to evolve the existing perspective regarding OS metastasis in dogs and improve the translational approach via their MIMIC (Minimally Invasive Metastasectomy in Canines) trial to create alignment of the dog model with the OS patients of highest need, those with distant metastasis. In this discussion, Dr. Thomson shares their progress and review preliminary findings from the high-level evidence Ethos-MIMIC clinical trial which suggests that there is more hope for patients than initially thought.