Melanoma - Oncept - July 2023 - Update post 216

[oldernewbie]

A good news/meh news kind of update: Took Mr Ay-rab back to OSU today for a sooner-than-planned follow up injection. It’s been 4.5 months since his last one. The good news is that his external masses are stable. The meh news is that I started seeing what I thought were changes in the edema in his eye that concerned me. They examined him and agreed that the mass in the front of his eye did not look as good as it did in March. The internal ones on his jugular were also slightly larger. Mind you, we are seeing very very small changes, but his team and I want to stay on top of it. Hypervigilance is our default mode for sure!

6 months would have been nice on my wallet, but I’d rather the beast was able to see. We are going to try for 4 month intervals, but I am fully prepared to stay at 3 months if that is what it takes.

Otherwise, he is the picture of health. Going to give him a couple of days off and then it’s back to the normal routine. I am ever thankful to the crew at OSU for their care and concern!

[Foxtrot_s]

Followed with interest.

We are, indeed, blessed to be able to take our horses to these schools.

Every horse they deal with gives them something new to work on…good luck for the future.

I had a suckling with (can never say/spell this) guttural pouch empayema many years ago. They were outstanding at Washington State University - eternally grateful. She became the mother of my current saddle horse.

They are both grey.

[twelvegates]

Thanks for keeping us updated.

[oldernewbie]

[QUOTE=twelvegates;8238326]
Thanks for keeping us updated.[/QUOTE]

You are welcome. It was tempting not to post about today because everything has been smooth sailing to this point. However, I’m trying to keep this thread as honest as I can make it so… the truth wins out!

On the other hand, it’s also nice to have a place to come and kinda whine a little. :yes: So here’s my disappointment, definitely kept in check by the thought of the (minority) of horses that OSU has tried this on who did not respond at all. One must keep one’s perspective!

ETA: FYI: They have tried Oncept on about 10 horses so far. My horse has been on it the longest.

[Lieslot]

Thanks oldernewbie, I appreciate your post!

[kimmielou01]

[QUOTE=oldernewbie;8238427]
You are welcome. It was tempting not to post about today because everything has been smooth sailing to this point. However, I’m trying to keep this thread as honest as I can make it so… the truth wins out!

On the other hand, it’s also nice to have a place to come and kinda whine a little. :yes: So here’s my disappointment, definitely kept in check by the thought of the (minority) of horses that OSU has tried this on who did not respond at all. One must keep one’s perspective!

ETA: FYI: They have tried Oncept on about 10 horses so far. My horse has been on it the longest.[/QUOTE]
Newbie, do you know out of those 10 how many have had improvement?

[oldernewbie]

[QUOTE=kimmielou01;8273479]
Newbie, do you know out of those 10 how many have had improvement?[/QUOTE]

K,

I would call Dr. Teresa Burns at OSU for the details. I believe that she has been the attending vet for all of the equine cases. PM me for her contact info or just call the large animal vet hospital main number (see OSU vet school website) and they will put you in touch with her. She’s a great person and I’m sure will answer all your questions.

Good luck!

ETA: General update: Mr Ay-rab’s masses decreased noticeably after the 7/21 injection, so we’re back to all good. He seems to feel better too. So 4 months it is!

[MandP]

Thank You

I recently discovered melanomas under the dock of my 7 year old grey mare’s tail. I’m very concerned due to her young age.

I have been looking through a lot of information and this thread provided extremely useful. I am going to continue to look for information on if it helps small clusters.

Thank you again!

[oldernewbie]

Howdy from wild and windy central Ohio! Mr Ay-rab and I went to OSU for his scheduled 4-month injection. Everything looks great - the mass in his eye looks a bit smaller, all others are stable. The attending did find a very small, very hard lump further down on the front of his neck, but it’s internal and doesn’t really feel like his other lumps. So, its presence was noted, but is not an item for concern. A very good visit!

Another piece of Oncept news - it’s apparently available for practitioners in the field now. Their only investment is for the intradermal injector, which my vet says is about $300. I think this is good news for those of you who were not close to a board certified vet - it does not appear that is a requirement any longer.

All smiles here!

ETA: Just a note to any lurkers - if you are thinking about pursuing this, OSU’s experience seems to follow my gut feelings - start early for the best results. The horses that come to them with very large masses do not respond as well, if at all.

[Ghazzu]

Yay!

[oldernewbie]

More good news! Mr Ay-rab had a visit with his favorite ophthalmologist in Lexington today. When we started on the Oncept path last year she was concerned that it wouldn’t work on a mass in the eye since the eye is privileged immunologically etc.

After almost 2 years she is now convinced that it is working on the masses in his eye since they have not only stabilized but regressed noticeably. In a typical case without intervention she would expect to see a slow but steady growth in the ocular melanomas. This is not at all what we are seeing - thank heavens!

Mr Ay-rab was happy because she fed him treats for standing so well through all his eye exams. I was happy because it was 60 and trailering was a breeze and I made it back home in time for my office Christmas party. Yep, a great day!

Happy Holidays from me and Mr Ay-rab!

[ArabOwner]

Hello, I also have a grey Arabian with several melanomas and I am interested in the Oncept vaccine but I do not live near a Vet School. Do you know if an Oncologist has to give the vaccine, or can any vet give it? Thank you and I am very happy to hear the vaccine has been a success for you!

[oldernewbie]

[QUOTE=ArabOwner;8437285]
Hello, I also have a grey Arabian with several melanomas and I am interested in the Oncept vaccine but I do not live near a Vet School. Do you know if an Oncologist has to give the vaccine, or can any vet give it? Thank you and I am very happy to hear the vaccine has been a success for you![/QUOTE]

At first it was only available to board certified vet oncologists or internal med vets. I just heard recently that Merial (the maker of Oncept) has loosened their requirements and allowed regular vets to administer it.

Does your vet have a Merial representative? That would be the place to start. Find out for sure what their requirements are and have your vet take it from there.

Good luck!

[Magicboy]

Would you please repeat the treatment sequence? Was it every two weeks then months apart for boosters?

[oldernewbie]

Injection protocol is:

1. 4 injections 2 weeks apart
   then
2. 4 injections 3 months apart
   then
3. 2 injections 6 months apart

My horse completed steps 1 & 2 with flying colors. We then tried to go 6 months to the next injection but I started seeing some very very small changes that I didn’t like and so we took him in for his next injection at 4.5 month (July 2015). He just had his most recent injection November 12 - we are going for 4 month intervals now. I expect that to be the case indefinitely, which is completely OK with me.

[oldernewbie]

No April Fool’s joke here - another good trip to OSU yesterday. Everything still looks great - no new masses and the old ones are small and stable. Took longer to give him a bath Wednesday night so that he wouldn’t look like a feral mustang than it did to examine and inject.

I think I could have gone 6 months before this injection, but I am still too chicken to give it a try. Why mess with success? We’ll see how the next few months go and evaluate again after 4.

[First_Dance]

Hello Everyone,

So I have been following this post for the past year and finally made the decision to try the vaccine with my grey. She has numerous melanomas throughout her body and at this point the vaccine is probably my only hope to try to manage them. I’ve tried the cimetidine route since I bought her 2 years ago. I can’t say one way or the other if that has helped or not. (Yes I bought her with melanomas, to me it was worth the chance). Anyway, she went for her first Oncept vaccine today…so fingers, toes, etc. crossed. I’ll try to keep up on posts. When I was researching I couldn’t get enough info and really wanted to hear about personal experiences. I really appreciate the fact that oldernewbie has kept us all updated. It really is so helpful!!!

[Zu_Zu]

Jingles & AO for your mare ~ ((hugs)) for you during this worrisome time ~

[QUOTE=First Dance;8687284]
Hello Everyone,

So I have been following this post for the past year and finally made the decision to try the vaccine with my grey. She has numerous melanomas throughout her body and at this point the vaccine is probably my only hope to try to manage them. I’ve tried the cimetidine route since I bought her 2 years ago. I can’t say one way or the other if that has helped or not. (Yes I bought her with melanomas, to me it was worth the chance). Anyway, she went for her first Oncept vaccine today…so fingers, toes, etc. crossed. I’ll try to keep up on posts. When I was researching I couldn’t get enough info and really wanted to hear about personal experiences. I really appreciate the fact that oldernewbie has kept us all updated. It really is so helpful!!!:)[/QUOTE]

[WildandWickedWarmblo]

Great results, OP.

I’ve had 2 friends with grey horses with melanomas. One horse died at age 29 with no treatment whatsoever. The other horse was put down at age 24 for ringbone. Both had really bad melanomas but their owners ignored them for some reasons I cannot fathom.

[Zu_Zu]

Jingles & AO continue for your gelding oldernewbie ~

[QUOTE=oldernewbie;8601328]
No April Fool’s joke here - another good trip to OSU yesterday. Everything still looks great - no new masses and the old ones are small and stable. Took longer to give him a bath Wednesday night so that he wouldn’t look like a feral mustang than it did to examine and inject.

I think I could have gone 6 months before this injection, but I am still too chicken to give it a try. Why mess with success? We’ll see how the next few months go and evaluate again after 4.

:)[/QUOTE]