IL-12 bladder immune therapy for dogs with invasive bladder cancer
Official title: Intravesical Immunotherapy of Spontaneous Canine Invasive Urothelial Carcinoma
Funded at North Carolina State University Raleigh · NIH-11163282 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project gives a sticky IL-12 immune medicine directly into the bladder of pet dogs with invasive bladder cancer to shrink tumors and stimulate immune responses.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | North Carolina State University Raleigh NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Raleigh, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2022 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $1,081,084 |
| NIH project number | 4U01CA272258-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11163282 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
The current study enrolls pet dogs with confirmed spontaneous invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder, and human patients with similar invasive bladder cancer could be candidates for future trials.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with widespread metastatic disease, severe other illnesses, or who cannot tolerate bladder instillations are less likely to benefit from this localized approach.
What this research studies
If you or your dog have invasive bladder cancer, researchers are putting interleukin‑12 mixed with a mucoadhesive biopolymer (chitosan) directly into the bladder of pet dogs that developed bladder cancer naturally. Dogs will receive repeated intravesical treatments and be monitored with imaging, biopsies, blood tests, and clinical exams to track tumor response and side effects. Investigators will also look for immune activation and whether treating the bladder can cause disappearance of untreated tumors elsewhere (abscopal effects). Because canine bladder cancer closely resembles human disease, positive results could support similar treatments for people.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could lead to a bladder-directed immunotherapy that controls tumors, reduces the need for bladder removal, and sparks systemic immune responses for people and pets with invasive bladder cancer.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier mouse studies using intravesical chitosan/IL-12 showed near-complete tumor elimination and strong abscopal effects, but the approach is not yet proven in dogs or humans.
Where this research is happening
-
North Carolina State University Raleigh
Raleigh, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zaharoff, David — North Carolina State University Raleigh
- Study coordinator: Zaharoff, David
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.