Pure Dog Breeds Help to Cure
Cancer
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The notion that dogs are humans’
best friend seems to extend far
beyond just emotional bonds in
today’s modern world. Pure breed
dogs, in particular, are helping
modern humans through modern
healthcare. Although dogs are
known to detect cancer through
smell, tumors in purebred dogs are
also helping to detect certain
types of cancers.
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Nearly a quarter of all purebred dogs die of cancer. Since similar symptoms
are shown in mice and other animals, further research can help pinpoint why
and how to solve these issues. Many purebred dogs are so inbred that they
have an increased risk of these genetic factors. Although it isn’t great for
disease risk in a closed, small pool of genetics, it is excellent material when
studying cancer genetics.
Different breeds are uniquely susceptible to certain types of cancers. Scottish
terriers, for example, have a 22% increased chance of getting bladder cancer
than the average mixed breed dog. With such an increased risk, it’s likely due
to an inherited mutation that has been bred into the group.
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Humans themselves are too genetically diverse to
trace cancers back to specific mutations, even
though around 55% of cancers, like BRCA mutations
in breast cancer and APC mutations in colorectal
cancer, aren’t due to human habits. Strong familial
patterns of disease can allow researchers to look at a
small and similar genetic family group. In humans,
modern DNA sequencing methods can streamline the
process of finding mutations. Interestingly, since all
purebred dogs are related to one another like
humans are related to our immediate ancestors,
every cancer that dogs get is similar to the
hereditary cancers in which humans are already
aware.
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For instance, squamous cell carcinoma of the digit can indicate
interbreeding. Squamous cells, or skin cells, and carcinomas are commonly
found in breeds like Briards, giant schnauzers, Gordon setters, and Kerry
blue terriers. The cancer is spread from too many copies of the KITL gene
which is found through the same founder mutation. While not all dog
cancers originate from a founder mutation, they seem to share
susceptibility.
Another type of cancer, osteosarcomas, is a bone cancer that is fairly rare in
humans, but has a high frequency in Irish wolfhounds and great Danes for
example. Unfortunately, the genetic makeup that gives these dogs a shared
trait of long legs also gives them a predisposition to the disease.
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As a result, researchers decided to determine if dogs have mutations in
common with one another. Studies showed that dogs often have
mutations in two genes, the IL-8 and SLC1A3. Both genes are thought to
cause malignant forms of osteosarcomas in humans. With this revelation,
researchers can figure out how this cancer forms and spreads, making it
much easier on scientists who would have to identify the process
through thousands of genes otherwise.

Now, Elaine Ostrander — the chief officer at the
National Institute of Health’s Cancer Genetics
and Comparative Genomics Branch — is
focusing her research on three other diseases
including gastric cancer, histiocytic sarcoma
cancer, and bladder cancer. The latter, in
particular, is of interest because dogs have a
high risk of the disease. Gastric cancer is of
interest because it’s highly deadly in both
humans and dogs. These types of cancer are a
high risk for some breeds, but don’t appear in
other dogs entirely.
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The third cancer in Ostrander’s research group is very rare in humans.
However, in Bernese mountain dogs have a 25% chance, while 20% of flat-
coated retrievers also are diagnosed with the disease. The cancers arise from
blood cells developed separately in these breeds, but the details like how far
the tumors spread and the origin differs in each breed. While this isn’t
necessarily useful for humans, it’s such a rare form of cancer that it’s useful to
understand how mutations affect the profession of these rare cancers. So, the
differing factor can help identify the likely cause of these different
progressions in each cancer. More research can help determine whether or
not those genes might be crucial in the acceleration of certain cancers or
where they develop in the body.
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As Ostrander and her team study purebreds
more, they can hopefully identify more
significant ways to treat human cancers. This
is where dogs help, too. Dogs help drive cancer
research because many similar cancers also
occur naturally in dogs, or at least as naturally
or as high of a risk as an inbred population can
get them, meaning they don’t have to induce
any animals with cancer to experiment on
ways to cure it. The evidence shows that
treatments that work on canine cancers often
work on humans, too.
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It’s revolutionary and beneficial news for researchers and unnecessary harm to
test subjects like rats. The further research progresses, the more it can help
prevent cancers in dogs as well as humans. Now, that’s something to bark home
about.
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Thank you!
A D A M C R O M A N . C O M