Orangutan undergoes human cancer treatment
An orangutan named Peanut has non-Hodgkin lymphoma - and is getting treatment as if she was a human.
Peanut is an 8-year-old orangutan and a star attraction at Miami's Jungle Island. In this Sept. 5, 2012 photo, Jungle Island volunteer Linda Jacobs comforts Peanut following her R-CHOP therapy, a combination of drugs used in chemotherapy.
Human medical specialists are treading new ground in applying a standard chemotherapy regimen to treat cancer in an orangutan. Orangutans share about 96 percent of a human's genetic makeup, and Peanut's treatment plan is closer to that of what a human would receive for the same type of cancer, making this the first documented case of an orangutan being treated with this type of therapy.
In this Sept. 5, 2012 photo, Jungle Island volunteer Linda Jacobs comforts Peanut during her chemotherapy treatment.
Dr. Ryan DeVoe, senior veterinarian at the North Carolina Zoo where two female gorillas were given radiation therapy to help treat their cancer, said another unique aspect of Peanut's case is that, unlike the older apes, she has age on her side for either being cured or at least experiencing remission and living normally and comfortably for a long period of time.
Peanut's diagnosis came by chance when her veterinary team found she had an intestinal obstruction and further testing revealed cancer. The private zoo had no board certified veterinary oncologist on staff and turned to the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. A team there, along with UM's Division of Comparative Pathology, which specializes in wildlife, confirmed the diagnosis and is now providing guidance for Peanut's treatment.
In this Sept. 5, 2012 photo, an IV line is stuck in Peanut's arm as she undergoes chemotherapy.Peanut has a fraternal twin named Pumpkin, a rarity in the animal kingdom. They are the youngest of six orangutans at Jungle Island and a hit with park visitors. Both are highly intelligent and have been taught to use sign language and an iPad to communicate with their trainers, but they have distinct personalities. Peanut is welcoming and demanding, offering her doctor a twig in return for his water bottle. Pumpkin is quiet and her hair hangs low over her forehead. Pumpkin has not been diagnosed with the disease.
Working on an orangutan is a first for Rosenblatt, who has never worked on an animal larger than a mouse.
Her caretakers say explaining cancer to a human is difficult, but explaining it to a highly intelligent animal such as Peanut who communicates with her trainers and park visitors is nearly impossible.