Caninecancer.org.au

On your webiste you have UK research. What do the scientists hope to discover with all of this. They are wanting quite a few different breeds but only if they have specific cancers.

We (http://www.aht.org.uk/) have two types of research study:

1. Breed-specific
Although most cancers affect most pedigree dog breeds, some breeds show an elevated incidence of certain cancers. This suggests that the some members of these breeds carry inherited ‘genetic alterations’ that make it more likely that they will develop the cancer concerned. The objective of each breed-specific research study is to identify the ‘genetic risk factor(s)’ for the cancer concerned carried by some members of the breed. In the long term we hope that this will lead to the development of one, or more, DNA tests to identify dogs that have an increased risk of developing the cancer, allowing breeders to take this into consideration in their breeding programmes. This information will be useful to vets as it will identify dogs that may benefit from careful monitoring for early detection of cancer, thereby enabling early treatment. In addition, by identifying inherited genetic alterations that play a role in the development of cancer we increase our understanding of the ways in which tumours develop, and potentially identify targets for new drugs intended to prevent tumour development and/or progression.

2. Tumour-specific
The objectives of these studies are: a) To identify the spontaneous (not inherited) genetic alterations that are involved in tumour development and tumour spread, and b). Identify ‘molecular markers’ that accurately predict how a tumour will behave and respond to treatment. Detecting the genetic changes (that are not inherited) found in tumours is also a means of identifying new ways for intervening to prevent tumour development and/or tumour spread. Molecular markers that accurately predict how tumours behave are the basis of new prognostic tests for cancers. Such tests will assist oncologists to make better informed decisions about the most appropriate treatment for a dog affected by cancer.

If you would like additional information, and/or you would like to help our research by contributing a sample, please contact us by E-mail to oncologyres@aht.org.uk

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Head of Molecular Oncology
Animal Health Trust
Newmarket
Suffolk
UK

Sounds like it is very important as there might be a lot of good that can come out of it. How long will it take to get this research done so oncologists can start using what you learn?

Unfortunately everything takes a long time. Increasingly, research groups cannot apply for funding for a cancer research study until they have collected a sufficient number of samples to make a study viable. Sample collection can take a significant amount of time; for example, it took us around 5 years to collect sufficient numbers of samples from affected dogs before we were able to apply for funding for two current studies seeking to identify genetic risk factors for two cancers in different breeds. A major reason for the difficulty in collecting samples from affected dogs is that typically even for breeds that have an increased risk of developing the cancer concerned the actual risk is very low, and so affected dogs are few and far between. Obtaining funding for research into cancer in dogs is also not an insignificant task, as such projects are typically only funded by an extremely small number of organisations (e.g. national kennel clubs). Despite the many similarities between cancers in dogs and cancers in human, by and large human cancer research funding bodies do not fund ‘comparative research’ into canine cancers. Finally, even after funding has been secured, research into a multi-factorial disease like cancer is never straightforward, and there are usually complications and confounding factors that cause progress to be slow.

_________________
_____________
Head of Molecular Oncology
Animal Health Trust
Newmarket
Suffolk
UK