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Orangutan undergoes chemotherapy
Image: J Pat Carter/AP
First for orangutan cancer treatment

An eight-year-old orangutan has undergone chemotherapy treatment at Miami Zoo Jungle Island, Florida.

The orangutan, named Peanut, has aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (cancer of the blood). She was diagnosed following examinations for an intestinal obstruction and is the first documented orangutan to undergo chemotherapy.

Peanut has been undergoing chemotherapy since August. Three other orangutans, all in their 30s and 40s, have been known to undergo cancer treatment in the past, though they received either radiation therapy or operations to remove their tumours.

Orangutans share about 96 percent of a human's genetics, so her treatment is close to what a human would receive for the same type of cancer, however, she is given slightly reduced doses. Unless her body can't handle it, Peanut will receive six three-hour doses, each 21 days apart. Her doses are one or two hours less than given to humans.

I've never had the same combination of fear and enthusiasm in one patient before
Unlike humans, Peanut has been sedated for the treatments, though vomited after her first therapy. It is not known whether this was caused by the treatment or the anaesthesia - which is known to cause nausea in animals.

One of the doctors treating Peanut, Joseph Rosenblatt, said: "I've never had the same combination of fear and enthusiasm in one patient before. We don't know what to expect and yet we're intensely curious and potentially hopeful that we can help the animal."

Dr Rosenblatt has never worked with an animal larger than a mouse, but he adds: "When the animal looks at you in the eye, it's both sympathetic as well as a look that radiates intelligence."

Image: J Pat Carter/AP
Peanut is able to use sign language and uses an iPad to communicate with her trainers. The team say she is very welcoming - offering her doctor a twig in return for a water bottle. With age on her side, it is thought that Peanut stands a good chance of being cured following her therapy, or at least experiencing remission.

The team say they are keeping a positive attitude around her, though she is highly intelligent and she understands something is different with her. Her trainers believe she would not comprehend what cancer or illness is.

Peanut's trainer, Linda Jacobs, said Peanut is fatigued but hasn't lost much of her reddish-orange hair.

"I have been with her since she was born, so I am really sensitive to her needs and her moods," she said. "She still has that twinkle in her eye, and God willing, she will be a cancer survivor."

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Practices urged to audit neutering data

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has called on vet practices to audit their post-operative neutering outcomes.

It follows the release of the 2024 NASAN benchmarking report, which collates data from neutering procedures performed on dogs, cats and rabbits.

The benchmarking report enables practices in the UK and Ireland to compare their post-operative outcomes to the national average. This includes the rate of patients lost to follow-up, which in 2024 increased to 23 per cent.

Anyone from the practice can submit the data using a free template. The deadline for next report is February 2026.

Visit the RCVS Knowledge website to complete an audit. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
RCVS pays tribute to well-loved equine vet

The RCVS and the Riding Establishments Subcommittee has paid tribute to well-loved veterinary surgeon and riding establishment inspector, Rebecca Hamilton-Fletcher MRCVS.

Linda Belton MRCVS, RCVS President, said: "I, along with my colleagues on the RESC, RCVS Council, RCVS Standards Committee, as well as RCVS staff, was very saddened to hear of the sudden death of Rebecca, or Becca as we knew her, last week.

"She was a true advocate for equine welfare and in her many years on the RESC worked to continually improve the quality and consistency of riding establishment inspections, all in the interests of enhanced horse welfare and rider safety."