Four life-saving interactions, one dog, and a gift to advance cancer research
The meeting started with gratitude for a dog named Casey. It ended with a gift that will help support cancer treatment for animals and humans alike.
On a November morning at Virginia Tech's Animal Cancer Care and Research Center, Ken and Lisa Laughon arrived, but not as typical donors. Their cairn terrier had survived three cancer surgeries and received life-extending medical case management from Joanne Tuohy, the veterinary surgical oncologist who had become their trusted guide through years of medical crisis.
"You saved his life four times," Ken Laughon told Tuohy, presenting a significant gift from the Beirne Carter Foundation. "Now help us save thousands more."
The gift advances Tuohy's pioneering research in histotripsy — focused ultrasound technology that destroys tumors without surgery. It is being developed first for dogs with the goal of adapting the technology for people, reversing the traditional flow of medicine from human to veterinary applications.
Personal stakes drive scientific breakthroughs
Casey's journey through cancer began before the Animal Cancer Care and Research Center existed. His first liver tumor brought the Laughons to Tuohy at Virginia Tech's veterinary facilities in Blacksburg. Two more tumors would follow — an additional liver tumor, then a soft tissue sarcoma deep in his front leg below his elbow that would usually be removed with limb amputation.
"He was already 13 1/2," Lisa Laughon said. "Ken thought, 'How is he going to manage with three legs?'"
The tumor had wrapped intricately around tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels, creating a surgical puzzle most would deem impossible. Tuohy spent hours meticulously separating tissue, determined to preserve both the leg and its function.
Two days later, Casey walked. On Christmas Day, Tuohy called to check his recovery.
"We thought, 'What are you doing, calling on Christmas?'" Lisa Laughon said. That call — checking on a patient during family time — revealed the personal dedication that would later inspire their choice to direct the Beirne Carter Foundation gift to Tuohy.
The foundation connection
Ken Laughon's relationship with the Beirne Carter Foundation spans decades. He worked for Carter Machinery, now one of North America’s largest Caterpillar dealers, retiring as president and chief executive officer. Carter Machinery’s founder, Beirne Carter, died of cancer at 66. Before his death, Carter established both the Beirne B. Carter Center for Immunology Research at the University of Virginia and the foundation that continues his philanthropy in Southwest Virginia and throughout the commonwealth.
"The foundation has done so much good work around this region," Ken Laughon said, including health care access, feeding programs, and community initiatives.
When the foundation's board transitioned to include Carter's grandchildren, they chose to honor Ken Laughon's decades of service with a directed gift. The decision of where to focus that gift came instantly.
"We talked about options, but Lisa said ‘Joanne Tuohy,’ and we both knew," Ken Laughon said.
Beyond the scalpel
"I wouldn't wish surgery on anyone or any pet unless absolutely necessary," Tuohy said during the meeting. "That's the tool we have now for removing cancers, but we can do better."
Histotripsy represents the "better" noninvasive option to treat cancer, using precisely controlled ultrasound waves to disintegrate tumors through acoustic cavitation mechanically. The Food and Drug Administration approved it for the treatment of human liver cancer in October 2023, and its use has expanded rapidly worldwide.
But Virginia Tech is flipping the traditional development pathway. Instead of waiting for human applications to trickle down to veterinary medicine, Tuohy develops technology specifically for dogs first.
"Traditionally it's dog to people, but now it's dog to people to dog," Tuohy said. "Our canine patients benefit from what they've learned in people, and we're bringing it back to the dog. Our goal is to develop it for our canine patients and to generate immune response data to help people. It's a two-way street."
The immune system revolution
The most promising aspect of histotripsy extends beyond tumor destruction. When histotripsy breaks apart cancer cells, it releases molecules that help the immune system recognize and attack cancer throughout the body — a critical step in preventing metastasis.
This matters especially for osteosarcoma, the bone cancer that primarily strikes children and teenagers. Despite decades of research, survival rates remain stubbornly unchanged. The cancer suppresses immune cells within tumors, rendering them "non-functional or dysfunctional," Tuohy said.
Her team's approach combines histotripsy's immune system "jump-start" with new dog-specific immunotherapies. For the first time, collaborators at the University of Pennsylvania have developed canine checkpoint inhibitors — immunotherapies that have been widely successful in human cancers but were previously unavailable for veterinary patients.
"We're really excited about doing that," Tuohy said, describing clinical trials now enrolling dogs. "We'll follow these dogs out for one year to see if there's any delay of metastatic disease when we combine histotripsy with immunotherapy."
University expertise
The research thrives within Virginia Tech's collaborative ecosystem and combines expertise in engineering, veterinary medicine, immunology, and basic science. Tuohy collaborates closely with Eli Vlaisavljevich, the Virginia Tech engineer who helped develop histotripsy and secure FDA approval. He named the first human clinical trial "THERESA" after his mother, who died of liver cancer.
"He has a very personal connection with histotripsy, and he loves dogs and cats," Tuohy said. "He wants the technology available to them as well."
The technology's precision enables ablation of tumors that are inaccessible or risky for conventional treatments, offering the first noninvasive tumor treatment that does not use heat or radiation to destroy cancer cells. Importantly, histotripsy's potential to stimulate immune responses and synergize with immunotherapies offers hope of improved cancer survival.
