Veterinary college researcher studying brain tumors in people and animals

“Currently, the standard of care in veterinary radiotherapy is fractional radiotherapy delivered with a linear accelerator,” explained Rossmeisl. This form of radiation therapy is typically delivered with frequent administration of relatively small doses of radiation multiple days per week over several weeks. Though it can be fairly precisely targeted, it can affect tissues unrelated to the tumor.

The grant will enable the researchers to perfect protocols for treating canine patients with stereotactic radiosurgery – more commonly known as the “gamma knife.” The gamma knife uses a specialized head-frame to target an exactingly focused beam of killing radiation with pin-point accuracy on the tumor itself. As opposed to a traditional course of radiotherapy that can take weeks, the gamma knife can accomplish the task in one session lasting a few hours.

For more information regarding the Comparative Canine Glioma Trial (CCGT) study, view the CCGT General Information Form at www.vth.vt.edu/clinicalservices/clintrials/CCGT_GenInfo_Sheet.pdf or contact Luann-Mack Drinkard (clinical research technician) at or by phone at (540) 231-4621, or the study co-director, Dr. John Rossmeisl at . Learn more about Rossmeisl at www.vetmed.vt.edu/Organization/Departments/DSACS/faculty/rossmeisl.asp.

Learn more about the Center for Comparative Oncology at www.vetmed.vt.edu/CeCO/.

The Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM) is a two-state, three-campus professional school operated by the land-grant universities of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg and the University of Maryland at College Park. Its flagship facilities, based at Virginia Tech, include the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, which treats more than 40,000 animals annually. Other campuses include the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Leesburg, Va., and the Avrum Gudelsky Veterinary Center at College Park, home of the Center for Government and Corporate Veterinary Medicine. The VMRCVM annually enrolls approximately 500 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and graduate students, is a leading biomedical and clinical research center, and provides professional continuing education services for veterinarians practicing throughout the two states. Virginia Tech, the most comprehensive university in Virginia, is dedicated to quality, innovation, and results to the commonwealth, the nation, and the world.