Dogs as a Model for Cancer: An Update

Spontaneous cancers in client-owned dogs often closely recapitulate their human counterparts with respect to clinical presentation, histological features, molecular profiles, response and resistance to therapy, and the evolution of drug-resistant metastases. In several instances, the incorporation of dogs with cancer into the preclinical development path of cancer therapeutics has influenced outcomes by helping to establish pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamics relationships, dose/regimen, expected clinical toxicities, and ultimately the potential for biologic activity. As our understanding regarding the molecular drivers and immune landscape of canine cancers has improved, unique opportunities have emerged to leverage this spontaneous model as a mechanism to better guide cancer drug development so that therapies likely to fail are eliminated earlier, whereas those with true potential are optimized prior to human trials. Both pets and people benefit from this approach, because it provides dogs with access to cutting-edge cancer treatments and helps to insure that people are given treatments with a greater probability of success.