Dogs

PBS: Can Dogs Sniff Cancer?

BloodhoundYou’ve probably heard stories like this: A dog persistently bumps against his owner’s chest. She goes for a mammogram and discovers she has a tumor–right where her dog was nudging her. Science has proven over the last decade or so that dogs can sniff cancer. But can this ability be translated into a diagnostic device to detect cancer early?

Among the research groups working on this challenge is the University of Pennsylvania’s Vet Working Dog Center. The center is training dogs to sniff out ovarian cancer cells. Working with a team of scientists, veterinarians at the center plan to take what they learn from this process to determine exactly what it is in cancer that dogs can smell, and then use nanotechnology to translate their findings into some sort of device–perhaps a breath test that will allow physicians to diagnose cancer before patients even have symptoms.

PBS featured the center on its Newshour recently. Watch the story here.

FDA Provides Info for Owners of Dogs with Cancer

VetWithDogI was interested to see the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s recent consumer alert titled “My Dog Has Cancer: What Do I Need to Know?”

For many years, there was actually only one fully FDA-approved cancer drug on the market for dogs: Palladia, used to treat dogs with mast cell tumors. But now several pharmaceutical companies are preparing to submit applications to the FDA for approval of new cancer drugs for pets. So I guess it made sense for the agency to reach out to consumers now.

Some of the topics in this alert include:

–How the FDA goes about reviewing the safety and efficacy of medicines developed to treat pets

–The difference between a “full” approval and a “conditional” approval

–Warning signs that your dog may have cancer

–Questions to ask your vet about potential treatments

Read the alert here.