VETINUITY
Carboplatin is given at 300 mg/m2 IV every 3 weeks in dogs and 200-240 mg/m2 IV every 3 to 4 weeks in cats, with the dose reduced for poor kidney function.
BSA-based. Volume uses the 10 mg/mL solution; dilute per the product label before infusion.
The Vetinuity carboplatin dose table: dogs receive 300 mg/m2 IV once every 3 weeks, usually for four to six doses, and cats receive 200 to 240 mg/m2 IV every 3 to 4 weeks, with both doses lowered when glomerular filtration is reduced because the drug is cleared by the kidneys. The Vetinuity carboplatin dose calculator above returns milligrams and milliliters of the 10 mg/mL solution for the patient’s body surface area. It belongs to the drug set behind Vetinuity, the clinical assistant from Brian Toncray, DVM, who practices emergency medicine.
| Indication | Dog | Cat | Route and interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osteosarcoma after amputation | 300 mg/m2 | not standard | IV every 3 weeks, 4 to 6 doses |
| Carcinomas and sarcomas (single agent) | 300 mg/m2 | 200 to 240 mg/m2 | IV every 3 to 4 weeks |
| Intralesional or combination protocols | per protocol | per protocol | specialist use |
Single-agent carboplatin after amputation is one of the standard adjuvant choices for canine appendicular osteosarcoma (Phillips 2009). In cats, the phase I study found 240 mg/m2 to be the maximally tolerated dose, with neutropenia and thrombocytopenia as the dose-limiting effects (Kisseberth 2008); many clinicians start at 200 to 210 mg/m2 in a first cycle.
Carboplatin is excreted almost entirely in urine, so exposure rises when GFR falls. Check creatinine and urine specific gravity before each dose and reduce the dose in azotemic patients; pharmacokinetic modelling in dogs supports adjusting to measured kidney function rather than body surface area alone (Béguin 2024). Unlike cisplatin, carboplatin needs no saline diuresis and is not itself nephrotoxic at these doses.
Related: lomustine dosing, single-agent doxorubicin and lymphoma rescue options.
Lomustine is dosed at 60-90 mg/m2 PO every 3 weeks in dogs and 50-60 mg/m2 PO every 3 to 6 weeks in cats, rounded to whole capsules, with ALT and a CBC checked before every dose.
Single-agent doxorubicin for canine lymphoma is 30 mg/m2 IV every 2 to 3 weeks for 5 doses, or 1 mg/kg in dogs under 10 kg, after a baseline echocardiogram in breeds at cardiac risk.
After CHOP relapse, options are re-induction with CHOP, lomustine 70-90 mg/m2 every 3 weeks, LPP, DMAC every 2 weeks, or rabacfosadine 1 mg/kg IV every 3 weeks.
The WHO staging scheme describes how far canine lymphoma extends anatomically; substage a or b separately records whether systemic signs are absent or present.
Yes. Cisplatin causes fatal pulmonary edema in cats and is never used in them. Carboplatin does not share that effect and was dose-escalated in tumor-bearing cats to a maximally tolerated 240 mg/m2 (Kisseberth 2008).
Later than with most drugs: around day 10 to 14 in dogs and as late as the third week in cats. A CBC at day 7 can miss it.
It can. A 2024 retrospective study described cumulative neutropenia in dogs receiving repeated carboplatin doses (Fan 2024), so later cycles deserve the same nadir check as the first.
Vetinuity explains clinical options with journal citations.
The veterinarian diagnoses and prescribes.