The Institute for Comparative Cancer Investigation at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, is aiming to help canines with cancer while also advancing knowledge about human cancer.According to Brenda Coomber, dogs with cancers that have naturally developed are a much better model of human cancer than using mice and rats, where tumors often have to be induced for studies.
But what about the dogs at this clinic? Is this research good for them?
Coomber states that all dogs treated at the clinics have developed their cancers naturally and that the quality of life of the animal is always kept in mind. In addition, the research will also work towards coming up with new and better options for treatments for canine cancers in the future.
As for the human benefits, one example was work in dogs with osteosarcoma in a limb that led to the development of a novel surgery that is now being tested in children.
According to Coomber, "Cancers that develop in these dogs are an enormous resource. Figuring out what's going on in a tumour, finding out about the disease, it will absolutely be applicable to people."
