Cancer in Canines: A Scary Proposition, but

Peter Kenseth and Holly Kenseth

The Orange County Convention Center provided a somewhat surreal stage in early June, as thousands of veterinary and animal health professionals gathered for VMX 2021. While the conference offered a virtual component, for many of the ~10,500 onsite attendees, it was the first in-person conference that they had attended since COVID-19 largely shut down the world over a year earlier.

Attendance at VMX 2021 was down ~40% from the previous year’s ~18,000 attendees, but there were still significant developments unveiled at the conference. One of the most notable trends was the proliferation of oncology diagnostics and treatments. Given that the Veterinary Cancer Society states that cancer is the main cause of death in 47% of dogs and 32% of cats, it isn’t surprising that animal health diagnostics companies are turning their attention to combating this dreadful disease.

Many of the oncology diagnostics showcased at VMX were screening tools to aid in cancer diagnosis for high-risk or elderly canine patients. In what could be best described as a shocking new product launch, PetDx released OncoK9, a liquid biopsy multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test that employs cutting-edge genomic analysis that leverages next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology and proprietary bioinformatics algorithms. While advances in veterinary medicine usually lag advances in human medicine, OncoK9 beat its human liquid biopsy counterpart, Galleri from Illumina-founded company GRAIL to market by a matter of days. PetDx was founded by Illumina’s former Chief Medical Officer, which may account for the similarity in timeline. Regardless, the technology offers pet parents the ability to proactively diagnose and treat cancer via a simple blood draw.

Volition Veterinary also released Nu.Q Vet Cancer Screening test, which it is targeting towards older dogs (7+ years), for cases where there is a high suspicion of cancer, or as a complementary test for younger dogs of breeds with a higher risk for developing cancer (e.g., Golden Retrievers, Boxers, Flat Coated Retrievers, Beagles, Burmese Mountain dogs, Rottweilers, West Highland White Terriers and Shetland Sheepdogs). This test also requires only a simple blood draw and is reportedly able to identify 89% of hemangiosarcomas and 74% of lymphomas, which account for approximately 1/3 of cancers in dogs.

Antech also showcased its CADET BRAF and CADET BRAF Plus tests, which test for transitional cell carcinomas (TCC) and urothelial cancer (UC) in canines, based on the associated BRAF mutation.

Additionally, Antech was one of two companies to release a digital cytology analyzer. Antech’s Digital Cytology Scanner promises whole slide interpretation within 2 hours of submission. Heska also released a telecytology solution, “HeskaView Telecytology,” which offers results in as little as 15 minutes, utilizing a “network of senior, board-certified veterinary clinical pathologists.” In situations where a veterinarian believes that an undiagnosed mass warrants being aspiration or biopsy, these developments promise pet parents the ability to obtain a diagnosis quickly and accurately for their pet, and alleviates the uncertainty associated with having to send out tests for external analysis.

In some future cases, pets with mast cell tumors might even be able to receive diagnosis and treatment on the same day. Virbac unveiled “Stelfonta,” an intratumoral injection for local treatment of non-metastatic tumors in canines. Virbac claims the injection starts working within 2 hours, with tumors typically destroyed by day 7. This new treatment presents a surgical alternative for the treatment of mast cell tumors.

While the prospect of a beloved pet developing cancer is an undeniably scary proposition, pet parents can take some degree of comfort in knowing that developments for the detection and treatment of cancer in animals are being made every day. In some cases, these developments are even outpacing advances in human medicine. While we all wait and hope for a cure, diagnostics that allow for earlier detection and more effective treatment of cancer provide our best hope at improving the quality of life of affected pets and providing the maximum amount of quality time for them to spend with their pet parents.