A link found between dogs and humans with bone cancer could lead to better treatment for both children and man’s best friend, according to a new study published by Tufts University and the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Arizona.
Osteosarcoma, a bone cancer found in dogs and children, is a deadly disease that hasn’t seen a significant medical breakthrough in decades.
But a study published Friday in one of Nature’s journals, Communications Biology, shows the cancer is genetically similar in dogs and humans, meaning new opportunities for research and treatment could soon be on the horizon.
Researchers sequenced the genomes of 59 dogs, noting similar genomic features also found in humans such as low mutation rates and unique genetic features of metastatic tumors that spread to other parts of the body.
“These findings set the stage for understanding OS development in dogs and humans, and establish genomic contexts for future comparative analyses,” said Dr. Cheryl London of Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and one of the study’s senior authors.
Osteosarcoma is rare in children, impacting fewer than 1,000 kids each year, but over 25,000 dogs are diagnosed with the cancer each year, leaving many more cases available for comparative studies that could enhance drug development.
Dr. Jeffrey Trent, president and research director of Translational Genomics and a contributing author on the study said, “Leveraging the similarities between the human and canine forms of OS adds greatly to our understanding of how this aggressive cancer develops and spreads. More importantly, it provides an opportunity to develop therapies that make a difference in the lives of children and pets.”
The cancer moves quickly in dogs, with more than 90% dying from the disease within two years. In children, 30% of patients die within five years. Surgery and chemotherapy are current standards of care for both humans and dogs.
The cause of most cases of osteosarcoma is still unknown, but it can develop as a result of radiation to an area of the body or be associated with genetic changes and diseases.
The study also found new features of canine bone cancer, including potentially cancer-causing mutations in two genes, which could warrant further investigation.
Using the link between dogs and humans could forge new territory in the future, meaning better treatments for both species.
“Defining how dog and human cancers are similar, or different, on the genetic level is the first step in designing clinical trials to test new agents in dogs with a specific cancer that have a direct correlation to humans with a specific cancer,” said London.
