I 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.