If your pup has just been diagnosed with cancer, here’s an easy way you can both help scientists study this heartbreaking disease. Trouble (shown here) is doing it, and you can too!
The Van Andel Institute, a biomedical research facility based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has just announced their Canine Hereditary Cancer Consortium.
Known as the CHCC, this team is utilizing Van Andel’s newest genetic resources and technologies to screen, test, diagnose and treat hereditary canine cancers, which will eventually help them gain insight into the ways that specific cancers affect both dogs and people.
Your Tripawd Can Help Fight Canine Cancer
According to Dr. Roe Froman, DVM and Senior Veterinary Research Scientist at Van Andel, researchers are currently studying five types of cancers that affect both dogs and people:
- Osteosarcoma
- Hemangiosarcoma
- Lymphoma
- Malignant histiocytosis
- Melanoma (oral or digital)
Dr. Froman shared these details with Tripawds:
“We are requesting samples from owners and veterinarians from affected dogs. We can use both fresh (NOT formalinized) tumor samples, as well as blood samples. The tumor cells are grown in the lab, and they are extremely useful for studying the biochemical pathways of the cancers, as well as the underlying DNA of the tumors.
We also can use blood samples (3-5 mls of whole blood in an EDTA – purple top – tube, sent at room temperature). The blood samples must come from dogs with a confirmed histopathological diagnosis of one of the above tumor types.
In the case of the osteosarcoma dogs, a blood sample from a dog whose already undergone amputation (again, with a confirmed histo diagnosis), would be very useful.”
For more information about how your Tripawd can participate in this important project, please visit the Van Andel Institute’s Canine Hereditary Cancer Consortium website.