Caninecancer.org.au

Hi Guys, and thank you for allowing me to join this forum.

I understand that there is a great deal of research being done in humans around the early identification of genetic markers that 'may' make a person predisposed to a particular cancer once we have identified that it in the 'family so to speak.

But is such testing or lead indicators available in dogs for example in the White and Red Blood cells counts that can be looked at to determine 'if' a dog is 'trending' towards Lymphoma or another cancer. For example, if there are 3 dogs in a litter and 1 gets canine cancer, other than the more obvious visual signs of lethargy and systematically checking and waiting, what can we do in a pro-active sense with pathology to test the other two dogs and catch this on the front foot
Thank you

Dear thomaslj,

What a great question!

There certainly is a lot of research into this area, in both the human and veterinary side. I presume you have already looked at the Research Link on the Home page of caninecancer.org.au to see that there is a lot of breed-specific research. Many of these projects are trying to determine what genetic abnormalities are present in certain cancers in these breeds, which may then be used to direct early detection and specific treatments.

However, on the veterinary side, there are still no widely available, clinically useful tests to detect specific cancers before they develop, or whether specific genetic changes are present increasing the risk of a particular patient developing a cancer in the future.

In the USA, there are a couple of blood tests which may be submitted to a particular laboratory to determine whether lymphoma or haemangiosarcoma may be present. These tests are best used when there is already a high index of suspicion that the disease may be present.

Watch this space!!
Amy

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Small Animal Oncology
Registered Specialist in Veterinary Oncology
Newcastle Region

Hello Amy Lane and thank you for the response.

The short answer is yes I have already pawed the research links and along with my two 'chemo' kids are actively involved in breed specific projects both here and abroad in looking for answers. We are also active in speaking out within our breed to raise awareness and teach others what to look for and how to look.

I just feel that there has to be more, I watch and review the blood work on my two dogs each week along with our treating team and look for changes and then we go from there.

As you say, watch this space, but i would be most interested to see what this information on testing is from America to provide some early indication.

Lesley