The Revolutionary Science Behind Torigen

Treatment for cancer in pets typically comes in three forms: surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. While these treatment methods do have high rates of success, they can be incredibly invasive and can have negative side-effects. At Torigen, our research has produced a new treatment method for pet cancer: individualized tissue vaccines produced using cells from the pet’s tumor.

Vaccines are used as a preventative healthcare method for humans and animals, but the scientific research behind Torigen’s tissue vaccine is a bit more complicated. It treats the cancer that is already present in a pet’s body, rather than acting as a preventative measure.

Torigen’s team of researchers have developed a vaccine treatment for pet cancer that uses tissue harvested directly from the tumor itself. This tissue is used to develop a vaccine formulated with antigens associated with the tumor cells and supporting tumor stroma.

These antigens, when introduced into a pet’s system, prompt an immune response that targets the cancerous tumor. Tissue vaccines “are antigenically rich, in that they are comprised of not only neoplastic cells but also supporting stromal matrix; furthermore, they include antigens that may be expressed only in vivo and which may be critical to a successful immune response to the cancer,” (Suckow, Heinrich, and Rosen, 2007).

This autologous immunotherapy vaccine, constructed entirely on the foundation of the pet’s tumor cells, is proven to be an effective treatment, “Autologous whole cell cancer immunotherapy can be used safely in the canine model of cancer,” (Crossley, et al., 2019). Thanks to this research, there is even a chance that these findings could be used in future cancer treatments in human healthcare.

Put simply, Torigen’s tissue vaccine equips the pet’s immune system to fight cancerous tissue by using the deactivated tumor cells in the vaccine to prompt an immune response. This method relies on the pet’s already-existing immune system to respond to the vaccine and induce inherent cancer immunity, working with the pet’s natural biological functions, rather than against it.

At Torigen, we are dedicated to developing and improving safe and successful cancer treatments for the future of pet healthcare.

For more in-depth information about Torigen’s process, contact us.

Sources:

Crossley RA, Matz A, Dew T, Kalinauskas A, Faucette N, Poff B, Silbart LK, Suckow MA. Safety evaluation of autologous tissue vaccine cancer immunotherapy in a canine model. Anticancer Research, 39:1699-1703, 2019.

​​Suckow MA, Heinrich JE, Rosen ED. Tissue vaccines for cancer. Expert Review of Vaccines 6:925-937, 2007.