Genetic similarities of osteosarcoma between dogs and children.
A bone cancer known as osteosarcoma is genetically similar in dogs and human children, according to the results of a study published today by Tufts University and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), an affiliate of City of Hope. The findings could help break the logjam in the treatment of this deadly disease, which hasn't seen a significant medical breakthrough in nearly three decades.
"While osteosarcoma (OS) is rare in children, it is all too common in many dog breeds, which makes it a prime candidate for the kind of comparative cancer biology studies that could enhance drug development for both children and our canine friends," said Will Hendricks, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor in TGen's Integrated Cancer Genomics Division, and one of the study's senior authors.
Using multiple molecular-level testing platforms, TGen and Tufts researchers sequenced the genomes of 59 dogs, finding that canine OS shares many of the genomic features of human OS, including low mutation rates, structural complexity, altered cellular pathways, and unique genetic features of metastatic tumors that spread to other parts of the body.
Study results appeared today in the Nature journal, Communications Biology.
"These findings set the stage for understanding OS development in dogs and humans, and establish genomic contexts for future comparative analyses," said Cheryl A. London, DVM, Ph.D., the Anne Engen and Dusty Professor in Comparative Oncology at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, and the study's other senior author.
The study also identified new features of canine OS, including recurrent and potentially cancer-causing mutations in two genes, SETD2 and DMD. The study suggests that these findings merit further exploration.
OS is an aggressive disease and the most commonly-diagnosed primary bone tumor in dogs and children. Though a relatively rare cancer in humans -- with fewer than 1,000 cases each year -- OS strikes more than 25,000 dogs annually.
Although surgery and chemotherapy can extend survival, about 30 percent of pediatric OS patients die from metastatic tumors within 5 years. The cancer moves much faster in dogs, with more than 90 percent succumbing to metastatic disease within 2 years.
"The genetic similarity between dogs and humans provides a unique opportunity and a comparative model that will enable the development of new therapies within a compressed timeline," said Heather L. Gardner, DVM, a Ph.D. candidate in Tufts' Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, and the study's lead author.
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Jeffrey Trent, Ph.D., FACMG, TGen President and Research Director, and a contributing author, said the comparative oncology approach is vital to the rapid development of new treatments for people and pets that need help today.
"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," said Dr. Trent, who has been a proponent of comparative oncology for more than a decade.
Researchers track how cats' weights change over time
Are cats getting fatter? Until now, pet owners and veterinarians didn't know for sure. Now University of Guelph researchers have become the first to access data on more than 19 million cats to get a picture of typical weight gain and loss over their lifetimes.
The researchers at U of G's Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) discovered most cats continue to put on weight as they age, and their average weight is on the rise.
The findings, published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, reveal that even after cats mature from the kitten phase, their weight still creeps up until they are, on average, eight years old.
This research -- the first of its kind to use such a large data pool -- provides important baseline information for vets and pet owners about cat weight changes, said Prof. Theresa Bernardo, the IDEXX Chair in Emerging Technologies and Bond-Centered Animal Healthcare.
"As humans, we know we need to strive to maintain a healthy weight, but for cats, there has not been a clear definition of what that is. We simply didn't have the data," said Bernardo. "Establishing the pattern of cat weights over their lifetimes provides us with important clues about their health."
Lead author Dr. Adam Campigotto, along with Bernardo and colleague Dr. Zvonimir Poljak, analyzed 54 million weight measurements taken at vets' offices on 19 million cats as part of his PhD research. The research team broke down the data to stratify any differences over gender, neutering status and breed.
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They found male cats tended to reach higher weight peaks than females and spayed or neutered cats tended to be heavier than unaltered cats. Among the four most common purebred breeds (Siamese, Persian, Himalayan and Maine Coon), the mean weight peaked between six and 10 years of age. Among common domestic cats, it peaked at eight years.
As well, the team noted that the mean weight of neutered, eight-year-old domestic cats increased between 1995 and 2005 but remained steady between 2005 and 2015.
"We do have concerns with obesity in middle age, because we know that can lead to diseases for cats, such as diabetes, heart disease, osteoarthritis and cancer," said Campigotto.
"Now that we have this data, we can see that cat weights tend to follow a curve. We don't yet know the ideal weight trajectory, but it's at least a starting point to begin further studies."
The team noted that 52 per cent of the cats among the study group had only one body weight measurement on file, which may suggest their owners did not bring the animals back in for regular vet checkups or took them to a different veterinary clinic.
Bernardo said just as humans need to be aware of maintaining a healthy weight as they age, it's important to monitor weight changes in cats.
"Cats tend to be overlooked because they hide their health problems and they don't see a vet as often as dogs do."
Discussions about body weight throughout a pet's lifetime could be a useful gateway for veterinarians to engage more cat owners in the health of their pets, she added.
For owners concerned about their cat's health or weight gain, Campigotto advises buying a scale and getting in the habit of weighing their pet.
"If your cat is gaining or losing weight, it may be an indicator of an underlying problem," he said.
The research team plans to study ways of reducing cat obesity including looking at the use of automated feeders that could dispense the appropriate amount of food for a cat. These feeders could even be equipped with built-in scales.
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