he Special Care Foundation for Companion Animals, its associated board of directors, scientific advisory board, advisory group and generous donors are a major force in catalyzing collaborative research between industry, academia, biotechnology firms, pharmaceutical laboratories and private medical and veterinary practices to develop cures for fatal diseases, such as cancer, for generations to come. Simply put, investigators allied with the Foundation labor to unlock the secrets of cancer while conducting ethical research that is second to none.

Research supported by the Foundation is performed by investigators who are funded directly by the Foundation. All research is reviewed by the scientific advisory board, the Foundations Animal Care and Use Committee, and the board of directors to ensure it is ethical and vibrantly important. Donors are given constant updates and are given the opportunity to be as directly involved with the research as they wish.

Researchers at the Foundation and its supported centers are focusing their efforts in several areas including:

Cures from Nature
Many of the world's greatest drugs, including digoxin for heart disease, aspirin for discomfort, vincristine, doxorubicin, l-asparaginase and paclitaxel are derived from nature. The Foundation continues to strongly endorse and explore research into natural substances to improve quality of life and longevity. Research is currently underway to explore the anticancer and immune restorative effects of mushroom extracts, the reported anticancer effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids, palladium and lipoic acid complexes, anticancer drugs derived from bacteria and plants, Co-Enzyme Q10, Mucomyst, natural inhibitors of angiogenesis and matrix metalloproteinases.

Nutrition and Cancer: Frontiers for Cure
Research conducted for more than 17 years explores the beneficial effects of nutrients to support the cancer patient. This work has resulted in the first nationally and internationally patented nutritional formula for treating the cancer patient that results in improved quality and length of life. The Special Care Foundation for Companion Animals continues to fund research of the anticancer and supportive effects of natural substances such as docosahexaenioic acid, conjugated linoleic acid, glutamine, arginine, SAMMe, vitamin B12 and others. Foundation researchers continue to explore the healing potential of a number of nutritional substances, formulas and compounds.

Safer, Better Radiation
Radiation therapy has been used for decades to improve the quality of life and longevity. Research conducted over the last 20 years by researchers who now continue their work as Foundation scientists, veterinarians and physicians is designed to deliver radiation in a safer, more effective manner. The Foundation is involved in research that enhances the effects of radiation, and reduces its adverse consequences while using the highest technology to more precisely target the radiation. Foundation researchers have explored the healing and diagnostic potential of radiation including:

  • Photon and electron radiation for the treatment of many cancers including lymphoma
  • IMRT therapy
  • Reduction of radiation toxicity with polyunsaturated fatty acids or glutamine

Safer, Faster, Better Anticancer Drugs
Research is underway with allied scientists from around the world to bring exciting new anticancer drugs and treatments designed to outsmart cancer cell survival to clinical trials. These drugs have one thing in common: they are designed to kill cancer cells while causing little, if any, adverse effects. Examples include international randomized clinical trials to explore the benefits of a novel molecular therapy that inhibits an enzyme in dogs with mast cell tumors and the unique biodegradable polymer release system to treat dogs with cancer with cisplatin. The goal in all the research supported by the Foundation is to improve quality of life. Foundation researchers have explored the healing potential of a number of chemotherapeutic agents including:

  • NBT Taxol
  • AB 1010
  • Bay-129566
  • Cisplatin SR

Outsmarting Cancer and Other Diseases
Research to explore the molecular basis of the growth and endurance of cancer is a prime directive of the investigators associated with the Foundation. Key, non-toxic therapies are being developed regularly based on the knowledge of how cancer survives in the body. Foundation researchers have explored the healing potential of a number of approaches including:

  • Antiangiogenesis research
  • Apoptosis research
  • Inhibition of matrix metalloproteinases
  • Inhibition of tyrosine kinases

Immunity and Cancer and Other Diseases
The immune system has long been recognized as an important link to controlling or curing cancer and other diseases. The Foundation's research team has discovered many ways in which cancer impacts the immune system, and how to harness the immune system to fight off this horrible disease. One example is the pioneering use of growth factors to treat certain diseases and to prevent chemotherapy-induced toxicity. Foundation researchers have explored the healing potential of a number of immune modulatory compounds including:

  • Cimetidine as an immune modulator
  • Removal of immune inhibitors through extracorporeal pheresis
  • Gene therapy
  • Natural immune modulators including Agaricus blazei

Greater Understanding of Cancer and Other Diseases
New advances in cancer care can only happen if we know everything possible about the disease itself. Research conducted by Foundation scientists is unraveling the mysteries of cancer and how it impacts the body. By understanding the enemy, we can begin to defeat it.

President and Lead Researcher of the Special Care Foundation for Companion Animals
Gregory K. Ogilvie, DVM
Diplomat ACVIM (Specialties of Internal Medicine, Oncology)

Prior to joining the team at Angel Care Cancer Center at California Veterinary Specialists and establishing the Special Care Foundation for Companion Animals in 2003, Dr. Ogilvie was a tenured professor, internist, head of medical oncology and director of the medical oncology research laboratory at Colorado State University (CSU). During this 16-year period, Dr. Ogilvie also spent one year as a visiting INSERM scientist at the medical school at the Laboratoire Nutrition, Croisance et Cancer at the Université François Rabelais, Tours France. While at CSU, Dr. Ogilvie became one of the first board-certified veterinary oncologists in the nation. During his tenure he co-authored two veterinary medical books, Managing the Veterinary Cancer Patient and Feline Oncology: Compassionate Care for Cats with Cancer. He has also written more than 120 peer reviewed articles and chapters, as well as over 120 scientific abstracts. While at CSU he was awarded two international patents, more than $5 million in research grants, and was the recipient of many awards including:

     ◦Arnold O. Beckman Research Award
     ◦Beecham Research Award
     ◦Purina Small Animal Research Award
     ◦Scheidy Memorial Research Award
     ◦American Veterinary Medical Association
     ◦American Veterinary Medical Association's “Veterinarian of the Year, 1995”
     ◦Cycle Award-American Animal Hospital Association's “Veterinarian of the
      Year, 1996”
     ◦Colorado Veterinary Medical Association Outstanding Faculty Award, 1996






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