Dog cancer researchers seek treatment for several breeds
By Anthony Odoardi (Last updated: 06/23/10 10:36pm)

MSU veterinarians are taking part in a study to combat several types of cancers found in dogs, which researchers said could help improve treatments for humans.

The From Bark to Bedside project is a two-year, $5.3 million study focusing on the genetics that cause cancer in breeds of canines.

The project is being led by the Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids, and will focus on five cancers between five to 10 different dog breeds, said Roe Froman, a senior veterinary research scientist at the Van Andel Institute.

“We hope to have better diagnostics, better treatments and more individualized treatments for dogs,” Froman said.

“If we have five different drugs to pick from to try and treat an animal or person with cancer and we have genetic information about that patient, we can identify one or two drugs that will work in that individual better than the other three.”

The group began lab work in April, and Froman said researchers are making progress and hope the findings will provide advances in human cancer research as well.

“Right now there’s not a great deal to offer as veterinarians to treat (cancers such as) hemangiosarcoma,” she said. “One of our goals is to try and take many of those drugs, screen them in canine clinical trials so they will benefit the dogs, but also lead to future benefit for human patients.”

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