We Are The Cure Blog | Canine Cancer Information

In 2004, the mapping of the dog genome was completed.  This effort was a collaboration of many individuals at many institutions and was funded by the National Institutes of Health. This was done at a cost of over $30 Million. Why did they do this?  Because they recognized that cures for cancer in people may come through studying and learning to treat this disease in dogs

There are several reasons that many cancer researchers believe this.  First, dogs like humans develop cancer spontaneously.  This is not the case in mice and rats in which the majority of cancer research happens now. Treating a mouse with a tumor that was injected into it is a lot easier to cure than a person with cancer. By learning how to treat a dog’s cancer, which has all the complexities of a human cancer, we are likely to come up with treatments that can also be used on people. Also, since dogs age faster than humans and they develop cancer at a younger age than people, cancer trials can be done faster and less expensively in dogs.

While the dog genome is about the same size as the human genome, there is less diversity in it, coming from many generations of breeding for specific traits and breeds.  This makes it easier to find the genes responsible for specific diseases, including many forms of cancer.

So in helping fund canine Cancer research you are also helping fight Cancer in people. For more information on the mapping of the genome of the dog go to http://www.genome.gov/12511476

modiano-interview.mp3

Dr. Michael Kent was awarded a research grant for a exciting new treatment for Canine Lymphoma. We discussed this research on the show.4_25_2008_drkent.mp3

After my wife Sara read my post she reminded me of our last day with Duncan and how much he then and still is helping us to find a cure for cancer.  Here is her story.

Today, a friend of ours called to say she was sorry to hear about our Duncan dog passing away. It’s been almost 6 weeks since we lost him. She wanted to send an email, she meant to send a card, but alas, she wanted it to be more personal so she called.

As we talked about Dunc and just how young and how not fair it was, I started talking about what Duncan did to further cancer research. Shortly after he was diagnosed we entered him into a study that required blood samples from him. We also sent blood samples from as many relatives of his we could find. His sister, niece and 1/2 brother participated. As we searched for the right treatment, I reviewed all the Hemangio research out there and we decided to submit samples to two more studies.

Since we didn’t have the presence of mind to make sure samples of the tumor we took out were kept. We asked for the tumor that regrew to be submitted to these two studies, Dr. Modiano’s and Dr. Breen’s. So, on that day that we said goodbye, Duncan was very brave and patient while our vet searched for a vein that would yield blood samples. His blood pressure was so low, that it was very hard to find one. However, after the blood was taken, he picked up his head in search of the cookies that he knew he would get for being such a good boy. And we all gave him one, our vet, the tech, Gary and I and I cried of course.

It was one of the worst days. As I look back, I can tell you all the bad things that Cancer is and how unfair it is that he was lost so early. But what I would rather do is tell you that he fought the cancer as long as he could and then on his last day, he gave what he could to further the research. So, Duncan is fighting by our side still to get rid of canine cancer.