As part of the Cancer Moonshot initiative, revived by US President Joe Biden, clinical trials are being conducted on dogs with cancer at veterinary universities in the US and Canada.
Dogs are better suited for this type of research than lab rats. Tumors in dogs occur naturally and are subject to similar living conditions with humans. In addition, the accelerated life cycle of dogs allows scientists to see research results faster.
For example, in 2019, experts from Colorado State University tested 28 dogs with osteosarcoma that had spread to the lungs.
In addition to a commercial cancer drug, they gave dogs losartan, a common hypertension drug that acts on the immune system by blocking the uptake of a type of white blood cell that stimulates tumor growth.
Three years later, scientists reported that this pair of drugs helped reduce or stabilize lung tumors in 50% of pets.
Such studies are already contributing to the treatment of people. About 40 children with refractory or recurrent osteosarcoma are currently receiving losartan and the human equivalent of a canine cancer drug to determine the safety and dosage range of treatment.
Source: Ferra
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