Comparative Oncology in Canines Advances Personalized Cancer Treatments for Humans
核心洞察
Purdue researchers use comparative oncology to study canine cancers, including bladder cancer (搜索), lymphoma (搜索), and osteosarcoma (搜索), which progress similarly in dogs and humans.
The Evan and Sue Ann Werling Comparative Oncology Research Center, opened a year ago, builds on a comparative oncology program established in 1979.
Scottish terriers develop bladder cancer (搜索) up to 20 times more frequently than other breeds, enabling early detection and prevention studies translatable to human patients.
Studying cancer in pet dogs is shedding light on human cancer care, according to veterinary researchers at Purdue University (搜索)'s College of Veterinary Medicine. The team, led by Deborah Knapp, distinguished professor of comparative oncology and the Dolores L. McCall Professor of Veterinary Medicine, has pursued this line of research for decades, focusing on personalizing treatments, honing protocols, and exploring new drugs.
"Comparative oncology allows us to study cancer in pet animals that help the pets and help us to learn things that impact human cancer research," Knapp said. "It's a rare case of win-win-win. The pet benefits, the next 100 animals benefit and that knowledge also helps humans with cancer."
Knapp is part of a team of comparative oncologists at the Evan and Sue Ann Werling Comparative Oncology Research Center, which opened a year ago at Purdue's College of Veterinary Medicine and builds on a comparative oncology program established in 1979. She also serves as associate director of clinical comparative oncology at the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research (搜索), where many of the other researchers work.
Maximizing Health Benefits Through Breed-Specific Research
The team selects research topics strategically to maximize benefit to individual pets as well as overall cancer knowledge. Areas of research include bladder cancer (搜索), lymphoma (搜索), and osteosarcoma (搜索), a bone cancer, all of which have similar progressions in dogs and humans. Other researchers are working on high-energy treatments called tumor ablations that allow them to safely and effectively shrink tumors without surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation.
"We are moving toward a more personalized, proactive approach to addressing cancer," Knapp said. "And one of the best ways to do that is to study dog breeds who are prone to certain kinds of cancer. We can improve treatments and protocols much more efficiently when we're working with a breed we already know tends to be prone to certain kinds of cancer."
Knapp applied this method to study early detection methods for bladder cancer (搜索) in Scottish terriers, which develop bladder cancer as much as 20 times more frequently than other dog breeds. Using that knowledge, her team studied early detection and prevention methods that could translate to human patients, as that form of bladder cancer is similar to a form found in humans.
"The progression of cancer in dogs is much more similar to humans than it would be in rodents," Knapp said. "So we are able to treat pet dogs who are sick while at the same time learning to help both dogs and people."
Tackling Osteosarcoma With AI and Doppler Radar
The team also addresses osteosarcoma (搜索), a rare bone cancer that is often devastating in humans but common in large-breed dogs. Michael Childress, professor of comparative oncology and a researcher in the Tyler Trent Pediatric Cancer Research Center within the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research (搜索), studies how to strategically match medicines to an individual patient's cancer.
"For cancers like osteosarcoma (搜索), it's very rare in humans, so it can be difficult to study," Childress said. "But unfortunately, it's very common in large-breed dogs like Great Danes and Rottweilers. What I am most focused on is trying to find ways to — very, very quickly — identify which drug is going to work best for which patient and which patient is going to respond best to which drug."
Childress and his team use tools like Doppler radar — more famous for predicting summer storms — and AI to gain insight into why some patients respond to drugs while others do not. Solving that mystery could help treat patients, both canine and human, faster while prolonging their quality of life.
A Community-Built Center
Veterinarians from around Indiana, the entire Midwest, and sometimes across the United States refer dogs suspected of having cancer to the veterinarians at the Werling Center, where they receive treatment through the newest ideas and technologies.
"The Werling Center is special because it came out of the community, and it's made from the community," Knapp said. "It grew out of a very special relationship with the Werlings, Sue Ann and Evan. They had a dog named Brandi who had bladder cancer (搜索). She participated in two of our clinical trials and out of that grew a friendship and this partnership with the Werlings. They were fascinated by what we do and wanted to help."
The research is part of Purdue's One Health initiative, which focuses on solving complex challenges at the intersection of human, animal, and plant health and delivering real-world impact.