Chemotherapy Damage to the Nerves in Dogs

Chemotherapy is used to help slow the growth of tumors, improve life quality and decrease the spread of a tumor in your dog. Chemotherapy drugs are meant to kill cancer cells and, in the process, they sometimes damage a cell’s DNA. Chemotherapy cannot differentiate between malignant and normal cancer cells. As a result, there are side effects of these life-saving drugs, including nerve damage in your dog.

  1. Neuropathy

    • Neuropathy, according to Caring.com, is damage to the peripheral nerve in both humans and dogs. Many of the chemotherapy drugs are toxic to healthy nerve cells as they strip the outer coating of various nerves in the body. The results of the nerve damage from some of these drugs are numbness, weakness, pain, tingling and an impaired sense of touch.

    Cisplatin and Carboplatin

    • CanineCarncerAwareness.Org documents the use of several common chemotherapy drugs and their side effects, including cisplatin and carboplatin. Both of these drugs have similar side effects, including damage to the nerves (lower motor neuron weakness) in the rear legs of the dogs. Cisplatin can be toxic to nerve cells.

    Vincristine

    • According to Petplace.com, vincristine is used to treat malignant cancers of the lymphoid and blood systems, and treats immune-mediated platelet disorders. Vincristine does have several side effects, including a damaging effect on the nervous system, which results in weakness, collapse and seizures.

    L-Asparaginase

    • L-asparaginase has an adverse side effect on liver disease, which can generally cause neurological nerve damage as well.

    Prevention/Solution

    • There are a number of neurotrophins, which can be used as a neuropathy protectant against the side effects of cisplatin, L-asparaginase and other nerve-damaging chemotherapy agents. If your dog will be undergoing chemotherapy treatment, discuss with your veterinary oncologists the medications available, the side effects and if the use of a neurotrophin can help to ward off any nerve damage side effects. Some neurotrophins available are amifostine, glutathione and prosaptides. Many neurotrophins are still in the testing stages, but your oncologists will be able to advise you as to the best medical therapy that is best for your dog.