Many people don’t know what the word “dendritic cells” means, or don’t know exactly what it means. But dendritic cells are an important part of our immune system and every human and every vertebrate normally has this type of cell. Their task is to recognize foreign structures (such as tumour cells) and stimulate their destruction by the body’s own immune system. Tumours can develop when degenerated tumour cells are no longer recognized as foreign by the dendritic cells in the body. Cultivating dendritic cells in vitro from the patient’s blood cells can reverse this immune blockade.

If your pet develops a tumor, the immune system, including the dendritic cells in your pet, is no longer working properly. They do not recognize the tumour cells as foreign and do not stimulate their destruction, but tolerate the tumour cells and their further growth.

In the clean room laboratory, the dendritic cells are allowed to develop again in their natural form without the influence of the tumor and can thus perform their important tasks in the immune system as intended by nature. These are: to recognize all foreign and degenerate cells in the body and immediately launch an appropriate immune response against them.

In principle, any tumor can be treated. This also applies if the tumor has already grown very large or has already formed metastases. In principle, the use of dendritic cell therapy should be considered in the treatment of tumor patients, regardless of the type of tumor and any organ affected. As this uses and increases the animal’s own immune system, a positive reaction can be diagnosed or even seen in (almost) all treatments.

For the planned treatment with dendritic cells, we always require fresh whole blood (not centrifuged and not frozen). This is the basis of dendritic cell therapy. We separate the so-called precursor cells (the monocytes) from the whole blood. These develop into dendritic cells with the addition of various cytokines (growth-regulating proteins).

No, this is not necessary. There are several reasons against the general use of tumor lysate. No tumor material can be obtained from inoperable tumors (e.g. lung tumors). The tumor tissue is often embedded in formalin. Or the tumor material is contaminated by (small amounts of) germs.

For dendritic cell therapy, we only need fresh whole blood from the patient.

Your veterinarian will receive a starter kit containing all materials and information needed for the initial blood draw (the required blood volume is approximately 1 ml per kg of body weight). A transport box will also be provided to ensure the samples are protected and kept cool during transport.

You schedule a blood draw appointment with your veterinarian and inform us of the date as early as possible, so we can arrange for an express courier to collect the samples on the same day.

As soon as the samples arrive at our facility, they are immediately checked for completeness, minimum required volume, and visible contamination. The processing of the cells begins right away and follows a fixed timeline.

The finished vaccine is delivered to your veterinarian by express courier 8 days after the blood draw (for cats) or 9 days after the blood draw (for dogs and horses), and must be administered on the day it arrives.

With many animals, for various reasons, e.g.

– request from you as the patient owner
– Size of the tumor
– Metastasis in other organs
– age or state of illness (disease of other organs, e.g. heart, liver, kidney in addition)

no more surgical interventions have been performed. In these cases, dendritic cell therapy can also be used palliatively. The strengthening of the immune system through the treatment often leads to a reduction in the size of the tumor and thus to a significant improvement in the patient’s quality of life. This is particularly true for non-operable tumors in the thoracic and abdominal area. On the other hand, a reduction in the size of the tumor tissue occasionally makes surgical intervention to remove the tumor possible again.

Please have a laboratory examination carried out on all removed tumors, even if you and your vet are actually sure that it is a benign change. Only the examination in the specialist laboratory should give final certainty.

In many cases, you as the patient owner will receive the histological findings, i.e. the laboratory examination of the tumor, from your vet a few days after the surgical procedure. These findings often state that the tumor could not be removed “in a healthy state” or that the edges of the tumor were “not clean”. This means that it cannot be guaranteed that the entire tumor was removed, i.e. the tumor was operated on incompletely or very close to the healthy tissue.

Incomplete removal can have various causes:

The tumor was so large that a complete removal would have placed too much strain on your patient because, for example, complications in wound healing (wound too large or wound area difficult to manage) would be expected.

The tumor is located in an organ of your patient where there is not enough tissue to remove the tumor completely with a sufficient “safety margin”. This is often the case, for example, when a tumor occurs in the facial area or on the legs. (However, comprehensive removal may also be possible for internal organs).

Metastases are already present that cannot be detected during the examination or cannot be removed.
We are often asked how to proceed if the tumor tissue could not be removed from healthy tissue or if it was only possible to reduce the size of the tumor mass.In these cases, dendritic cell therapy is a suitable treatment option, as the immune system is made aware of the tumor cells remaining in the patient’s body and these are targeted. Talk to us if you are unsure exactly what your patient’s laboratory findings mean and how you can deal with them.
Even small changes can have a major impact on the medical history later on, which is why it is so important to collect a lot of information.

Based on many years of experience with dendritic cell therapy in the treatment of dogs, cats and horses suffering from tumors, an initial application is recommended very soon after an operation or tumor diagnosis. The initial success of the treatment can then be assessed after a short time. There is usually an improvement in the general condition, shrinkage of the residual tumor tissue and/or good healing of the surgical wound. In order to further strengthen the body’s immune response, treatment three times a month has generally proved successful. This stimulates a sufficient immune response that builds up.
We recommend regular repetition of dendritic cell therapy at three to six-month intervals, especially for tumors with a strong tendency to recur.

In the case of equine sarcoids, further applications must be decided on the basis of the degree of healing. If you as an animal owner notice a slight reduction in the general quality of life of your animals after a few months, a follow-up treatment with dendritic cells would also be indicated in this case.

Dr. Thomas Grammel’s team will advise you and your vet at any time, even between applications, if you have any questions about the effect of the treatment.

Normally, the groin area is used for treatment in small animals (as there is little hair) and the neck in horses. The application is very gentle; your patient does not need to be anaesthetized or fasting, for example.
Your vet will receive specific instructions from Dr. Thomas Grammel on how to apply the cells. The type of application is individually tailored to each patient.

The dendritic cells should be applied as soon as they are ready in the laboratory. An express transportation company is used to ensure that the cells reach your veterinarian as quickly as possible. The cells are stored in a cool place during transportation and until application. You should therefore make an appointment with your vet for the day the cells arrive. The date of arrival of the cells is agreed with your vet.

Dendritic cell therapy can be combined very well with homeopathy, dietary supplements and painkillers. For some types of tumor, radiation is an effective support in fighting the tumor. This affects the surface of the tumor cells in such a way that they become more vulnerable to the immune cells.
Please discuss individual accompanying treatment steps and forms with your veterinarian. Immunological therapy with dendritic cells may inhibit alternative treatment concepts. We will be happy to clarify further information on other supportive treatment options with your veterinarian, who will have the relevant scientific documentation. We are of course at your disposal for further advice in order to achieve the best possible care for your four-legged friend.

A reaction to the applied dendritic cells can occur within a few days (in rare cases even within hours). Immunostimulation by the cells can be very seldom manifested by increased body temperature. Often owners see noticeably more agility in patients.
Within 3 weeks of application, solid tumors can be observed to shrink or separate from the surrounding tissue. It can also be observed that the consistency becomes softer and the tumor tissue detaches from the body or tumor debris is expelled through the skin (fluid vesicles).

The nutrition of the animal with a tumor and good intestinal health also play an important role in achieving optimal immunological resistance in the patient. Tumor patients are dependent on a strong immune system and therefore need a high-quality supply of nutrients.

The expected therapeutic success depends first and foremost on the type of tumor and the stage of the tumor at which dendritic cell therapy is started. Compared to conventional treatment methods, we can achieve an improvement in the quality of life with an increased lifespan for your pet if the tumor is diagnosed early and there is little to no metastasis.
In a very late tumor stage, dendritic cell therapy as a palliative accompanying therapy is a beneficial support to be able to say goodbye to your pet in peace with a little more time and less pain and, above all, to achieve quality of life.

In order to be able to give you a realistic assessment, we would like to get to know your patient and their medical history better. The Immune-Therapy-Vet team is always available to advise you and answer any questions you may have about immunological treatment.

As with all seriously ill animals, a vaccination (for example against rabies, distemper or influenza) should also be carefully considered in the case of a tumor diagnosis. During dendritic cell therapy, these can jeopardize the success of the treatment under certain circumstances. As these vaccinations interfere with the immune system, they can reduce or destroy the immunological effect of dendritic cell therapy. Therefore, please discuss any necessary vaccinations against infectious diseases with your veterinarian. During the treatment period with dendritic cell therapy, we recommend postponing planned vaccinations.

However, treatments against endo- or ectoparasites (worms, fleas e.g.) can and must be carried out to the extent necessary.

Please note that the purpose of chemotherapy is to suppress rapidly dividing cells (tumor cells). However, other rapidly dividing tissues of the animal’s body are also affected by the treatment (e.g. blood cells, intestinal cells). Knowing we need the white blood cells to make our immunological preparations, it is therefore always necessary to wait until the blood count has normalized before starting dendritic cell therapy.
Please contact us in any case if your pet is undergoing chemotherapeutic treatment in order to balance out the immunosuppressive effect of the chemotherapy before starting dendritic cell therapy. It is usually necessary to wait one month after chemotherapy before starting dendritic cell therapy.

Yes, dendritic cell therapy may be covered by your pet health insurance, even if you only have surgery insurance.
Just get in touch with us. We will be happy to provide you with a non-binding quote for submission to your health insurance company to check whether the costs will be covered.

After cultivating the cells in the clean room laboratory for 6 or 7 days, the cells are harvested. The cells are transferred to a sterile liquid on the day of cell harvesting. This is 2 ml for dogs and cats and 5 ml for horses. The complete cell suspension is applied to your patient so that as many cells as possible can develop their immunostimulating effect.

After cell harvesting, the cells are transferred to a transparent, sterile liquid. As the cells are also relatively colorless (to the naked eye), the cell suspension is transparent or slightly pink.

Fatigue and very rarely a slight fever may occur in the first few hours after the injection. This is a positive sign, as it means that your pet’s immune system is responding to the injection.
In the first week after treatment, there may be a marked reaction in the tumor area as the immune system increasingly attacks tumor cells. Therefore, increased swelling and inflammatory reactions are possible and a sign that the immune system is specifically attacking and immune cells are migrating into the tumor area.
In all cases, antiphlogistic (anti-inflammatory) and analgesic (pain-relieving) treatment is possible and reduces the symptoms.

You will often find the term “infiltrative” in the pathohistology laboratory report for your dog, cat or horse. In the case of a tumor, infiltrative means that the tumor is able to infiltrate surrounding tissue, i.e. grow into it. In plain language, this means that the tumor overcomes the tissue barriers and spreads regardless of the tissue (muscles, nerves, tendons, bones) around it.

Although these terms sound very similar, in practice they mean very different things:

Median survival means the time in days at which half of the animals suffering from the disease have died.

In contrast, the mean survival time means the average number of days that the diseased animals have lived. Here, one animal may have survived for only a few days, others for a long time.
Please bear these two different terms in mind when comparing survival times.

A tumor can form so-called metastases. Metastases are additional tumor bundles that occur alongside the main tumor (also known as the primary tumor). The different types of tumors in dogs, cats and horses form metastases at different rates. There are tumors that primarily form locally (e.g. fibrosarcomas). Other types of tumors form metastases first in the lungs, but they can also occur in other internal organs, such as the spleen, liver or heart.

When tumors form metastases, cells settle from the main tumor and spread to other organs via the bloodstream. There they form new islands of cells (micrometastases) and from them a new tumor mass. A biopsy of neighboring lymph nodes is often used to search for metastases. Unfortunately, metastases only become visible during an X-ray or ultrasound examination when they have reached a certain size. Micrometastases are more likely to be visible on a CT scan. The tissue type of the main tumor and metastases is often not the same cell type. It is therefore therapeutically interesting that immunological treatment with dendritic cells normally also reaches different cell types.
The following also applies: If no metastases have yet been found in your pet, the prognosis is better and the chances of a good course of the disease increase with timely treatment.

Recidive refers to the recurrence of a tumor. Different tumor types have different probabilities of the tumor recurring after complete removal, for example. This is also referred to as the “recurrence rate”, i.e. the probability that the tumor will recur.

In medicine, remission means the temporary or permanent easing of disease symptoms. In the case of tumor diseases, a distinction is made between the following categories

• minimal/small remission
• partial remission
• total remission

The aim of tumor treatment is to achieve the greatest possible remission of the disease over the longest possible period of time. Publications therefore list the three remission categories together with the number of animals affected and the average duration of remission.

We work with you to ensure that your pet is as comfortable as possible for as long as possible. Quality of life is therefore our most important yardstick. Because only good days are really worth living for the whole family. But how can I find out for myself whether my pet really has a good quality of life? You can and must discuss this with your family. Our quality of life questionnaire can help you with this.

Yes, if your veterinarian has no experience with dendritic cell therapy, we offer consultations and special advises. Your vet will also receive comprehensive information material for each patient.

Normally, a treatment cycle of three treatments is carried out at intervals of around one month as a basic treatment. Freshly drawn blood is used each time. Owners and their veterinarian are also given a treatment plan that reminds them to check the tumor regularly every three months. The team also sends reminders for follow-up checks.
We normally advise follow-up treatments at regular three- to six-month intervals. At the latest when you notice a decline in your four-legged friend’s zest for life, dendritic cell therapy should be sought again immediately.

For some animals, shortening the treatment interval has proven successful. Particularly in the case of very severely ill patients, the owners wish for such a shortening. The next blood sample can be taken at the earliest two weeks after administration of the dendritic cells. This accelerates the immune response.

Shortening the treatment intervals does not lead to any damage, but rather to a faster build-up of the immune system.

Dr. Thomas Grammel tries to help you in the best possible way to control your pet’s tumor disease. For this reason, you will receive regular emails reminding you to attend check-ups with your veterinarian.