What are clinical trials?
Clinical trials at the OVC HSC are research studies involving client-owned animals with the ultimate goal of advancing animal health care. These studies may try to identify the most effective therapies and practices for a given condition or increase our understanding of a disease process.
Participation in clinical trials at OVC HSC may provide our clients & their companion animals with unique access to new tools and treatments. Clinical research in companion animals may also help humans and vice versa.
For all clinical trials performed at the Ontario Veterinary College, informed consent will be obtained from a patient’s owner. The clinical care of a patient will not be compromised regardless of participation status. For a complete listing of all clinical trials currently recruiting patients including oncology trials, please visit the OVC Clinical Trials website.
OVC HSC was the first Canadian centre in the Comparative Oncology Trials Consortium (COTC – 20 sites) of the NIH-NCI-Center for Cancer Research’s Comparative Oncology Program set up to conduct clinical trials in dogs with cancer to assess novel therapies! We currently do not have any active studies with the COTC.
Recruitment closed in Nov 2017 for the first study, Standard of care therapy with or without Rapamycin in newly diagnosed dogs with appendicular osteosarcoma. Results from the study were published in June 2021. Publications with which ICCI clinical trials were associated can be found on the home page.
Our second trial in collaboration with NIH-NCI-COTC closed for recruitment in Oct 2019, Evaluation of a recombinant, attenuated Listeria monocytogenes expressing a chimeric human HER2/neu protein in dogs with osteosarcoma in the adjuvant setting. Results from this study were just published in Molecular Therapy at the beginning of April 2025.
Associated Links Out:
- OVC Pet Trust – Help the pets we love, live longer, healthier lives! OVC Pet Trust is Canada’s first charitable fund dedicated to the health and well-being of companion animals.
- Bench to Bedside Institute for Translational Health Research and Innovation – A research collective based at the OVC with collaborators and team members across Canada, focused on translational research between companion animal cancer research and human cancer research. Research focuses include pathobiology of tumourigenesis, novel therapeutics and personalized medicine, ethics and quality of life, and social, economic and logistical aspects of cancer search in Canada.
- Smiling Blue Skies – A broad scope support and resource page for all things about canine cancer, its treatment, and research. Smiling Blue Skies can offer financial support for treating pets with cancer.