No-Cbl (Nitrosylcobalamin)

[MilliesMom]

Grandpuppy Max is our third dog with cancer:
Ringo, our first dog (Springer Spaniel-retriever), developed cancer (I don't remember what kind) in the early '80s and died at 13.
Millie, our greyhound, had skin cancer but died of old age in '03, 10 days before her 15th birthday.
Now Max the Maltipoo, only 10, has cancer.
Had researchers been working on a promising therapy when Ringo or Millie were alive, perhaps it could be saving Grandpuppy. Perhaps it even could have saved my dad or my step-brother.

That's why I was so shocked when Dr. Annette Sysel, the President and Chief Veterinary Officer of Bauer Research told me that NO-Cbl (nitrosylcobalamin) likely NEVER would be sold, despite shrinking tumors between 40 and 70% in ALL of the dogs in the first study.

"We have had a lot of publicity regarding NO-Cbl, including magazines such as US News and World, Forbes magazine, newspapers, canine and feline publications, etc. We have had thousands of people visit the website and contact us directly, but it seems that no one is willing to donate since they can't obtain NO-Cbl for their pet. It's a shame, because with their help it's possible that NO-Cbl could be available for another of their pets that might develop cancer in the future. Unfortunately, it's unlikely that NO-Cbl will ever be developed for either human or companion animal use simply due to lack of funding.

"We have tried reaching out to pet owners and it seems that people just don't care enough to contribute, even when their own pets have or have had cancer. This year, the Bauer Research Foundation has received less than $1,000 in donations. If everyone who wrote in to us requesting NO-Cbl had donated even $10, we would be a lot closer to starting at least the first canine clinical trial. It's truly a shame because I sincerely believe that NO-Cbl could save a lot of lives."

The concept is simple and was developed by a physician at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic: cancer cells love B-12; use activated B-12 as a Trojan horse, so the cancer cells will accept it; then kill them off with a toxic dose of nitric oxide hiding inside.

Is it the answer to cancer? I don't know, but what I do know is we're spending thousands of dollars to try to save our beloved dog. I don't think we'll ever get over his loss. I don't think we'll ever get another dog. But I do know that I can find a way to send them a few dollars in hopes of sparing somebody else the terrible sense of loss we'll be feeling.

[Rickiesmom]

My guess is that there is more to this story than you are being told. If the initial research is so promising, why aren't they getting grants, or why hasn't a company or research institution with better funding partnered with them to take the research forward.

 

Know nothing about Bauer or the product beyond your post, but this feels like part of the story is missing.

 

Edited to add, I am so sorry about Max. Having lost several dogs to cancer, I feel your pain.

Edited September 20, 2016 by Rickiesmom

[NeylasMom]

My guess is that there is more to this story than you are being told. If the initial research is so promising, why aren't they getting grants, or why hasn't a company or research institution with better funding partnered with them to take the research forward.

 

Know nothing about Bauer or the product beyond your post, but this feels like part of the story is missing.

 

Edited to add, I am so sorry about Max. Having lost several dogs to cancer, I feel your pain.

I agree. Not that I am discouraging contributing to promising research, but it's not the responsibility of pet owners to fund the research that will ultimately lead to large profits for the company developing the drug if it proves promising.

[MilliesMom]

I am not connected with this company, but I have emailed back and forth with the head vet, who had received an award from the Humane Society, BTW.

 

Of course, I don't know everything, and you've posed good questions, which I will ask. However, I think the point is that it's NOT connected with a major drug company. Dr. Bauer (not a physician, but a Ph.D. immunologist) developed this at the Cleveland Clinic. It's hard for me to buy an assumption that every good idea will be picked up by a foundation with money. In a perfect world, yet.

 

I gave $20 this morn, one in memory of the two dogs we lost. Contributions also can be given through Amazon Smile.

 

Is it "our responsibility" to help fund drug trials with the assumption we'll be ripped off later? I guess that's a personal issue.

[NeylasMom]

I guess I don't have enough information. I didn't realize it was a research foundation and not a drug company from your original post, but just a quick google search to get to their website and there's very little information about what they're doing, just a few general statements and a place to donate. Is there another website I'm not finding that has details about how they are putting their donations to use to investigate this particular potential treatment? Do they have research trials planned? If they don't do testing on animals, how will they evaluate the efficacy of the drug? I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'm genuinely interested, but I'm not sure how they can essentially chastise people for not donating if there's no information out there about what they're doing.

 

ETA: Information provided by themselves, not in news articles.

 

Total aside - are you familiar with Artemisinin? It may interest you if you ever have a pet with cancer again. It works somewhat analagously to the drug you're talking about. Cancer cells love iron - the artemisinin is absorbed by the iron loving cancer cells and then kills them through free radical properties. There are some trials, although mostly on cell lines, not live patients supporting it's ability to kill cancer cells.

Edited September 20, 2016 by NeylasMom

[MilliesMom]

I donated $20 yesterday in memory of my other two dogs that had cancer, and posed the question that a couple of G'talkers had asked: If this shows so much promise, why isn't funding easier to get, particularly from foundations and universities? This is the answer I received this morning from Dr. Annette Sysel, President and Chief Veterinary Officer from Bauer Research:

"Thank you so much for your very kind donation in memory of Ringo and Millie. Having lost every one of my pets to cancer, I completely understand how frustrating and devastating it is, and we are honored that you chose the Bauer Research Foundation through which to honor them. Please don't worry about the amount - we truly appreciate every dollar and really want you to focus your resources on Grandpuppy's and Oscar's treatments. (FYI: Oscar is my FIV+ cat.)

"Regarding the dog owners' question: unfortunately, drug development (for both humans and companion animals) is driven by $$. Pharma companies and investors typically seek the biggest return on their investment in the shortest amount of time. Right now everyone is intensely focused on cancer vaccines, which are cheaper and quicker to reach approval, hence a smaller financial outlay and a faster return on that outlay. Universities and foundations do not fund drug development, and they too have to identify outside funding sources to carry on their work. In fact, the ability to bring in outside funding to support research endeavors is usually a criterion in order to be eligible for a university position."

If you have Amazon Prime, you can have money donated to Bauer Research (and many other charities) through Amazon Smile: www.smile.amazon.com

Edited September 21, 2016 by MilliesMom

[MilliesMom]

The reason it's so hard to find anything on NO-Cbl is because the trial was in '09. Only 8 dogs were involved. They were of various breeds and had various types of cancer. But all of them had substantial shrinkage in their tumors. Info is hard to find. The Ph.D. immunologist, Dr. Joseph Bauer, was working on it at the Cleveland Clinic. I hadn't much of an idea what that was, except my physician here in Phoenix had me do a heart test for them because she said they're the best.

 

Getting back to the story, I found bits and pieces of news. Dr. Bauer had moved on. They tried to raise funds among the tony crowed in Palm Beach. Then someone else in my Canine Cancer Yahoogroup did more research. It looked promising with a compounded drug she said was in New Zealand (Dr. Sysel of Bauer Research said it's in Australia), but the problem is that if it's not manufactured correctly, the tumor will grow from the B-12.

 

Cancer didn't kill my only greyhound. She had skin cancer, but I think it was old age that did her in...and osteoarthritis. My 15-year-old cat had the same-looking hips, but the difference was that 12 years later, I was able to get shots (Legend aka hyaulic acid and Pentosan) that could partially rebuild them, and it's saved Oscar. May have been able to do the same with Millie. I guess that's why I'm so passionate about this. No, it's not the answer for Grandpuppy now, but for other pets and humans down the road, it's got a good chance.

 

FYI: Grandpuppy, who's also diabetic, has anal sac adenocarcinoma. Diagnosed with a 2 cm lesion 3 months ago. Because of his special needs (and my extreme chemical sensitivity), we're trying a non-traditional approach with our integrative oncologist and vet first: Chinese herbs made by a master herbalogist and specific to his form of cancer; supplements (he took many previously, but the dosages have been changed and some added); changes made to his homeopathic remedies; acupuncture; hyperbaric chamber therapy; and ozone and UV blood therapies. His right sac was removed in May. A couple of lymph nodes were slightly enlarged, but they appeared to be due to his allergies and left in. One had doubled in size when it was scanned three weeks ago, and it's about 2 cm. The vets discussed the situation and decided to make changes to his supplement and homeopathic protocols in hopes of arresting the growth. We're giving it about a month until the next scan. (A little over so as not to run into the beginning of the Jewish High Holidays.) The enlarged node is not in a good spot. It could leak. If we can get it, we're discussing immunotherapy. Palladia is also on the table, but Max has a sensitive stomach and diabetes, so we can't have vomiting. I also don't know how I'll react. We're also looking into cannabis oil, if we can make sure we could deal with his glucose levels because they'd be affected.

[NeylasMom]

You might want to join the Artemisinin Yahoo group. There are a few people on there with dogs who have or had that cancer and they discuss other non-traditional therapies other than artemisinin.

[MilliesMom]

I believe that artemisinin is already in what he's getting from the herbalogist.

[NeylasMom]

I believe that artemisinin is already in what he's getting from the herbalogist.

I wasn't suggesting it specifically for Artemisinin, but that there is a lot of discussion about holistic remedies in general and there were a few dogs with specific treatment plans involving multiple things for that cancer. Just thought you might find some additional ideas or support there.

[LucysDad]

Hi, I just wanted to reach out to see if you've learned anything further since the last post on this thread, since I see its been quite some time. I'm researching treatment options for my dog Lucy. Any tips or info would be much appreciated.