Cornell University Grant-December 2022

We are very excited to announce our contributions to the ongoing Veterinary program at Cornell involving changes in the blood that are indicators of cancers. We are especially excited as this research is being done in conjunction with human trials in the human research division at Cornell. Sharing information in this way is the fastest way toward success for both species!

Here is a wonderful video that showcases Dr. Castelhano and her team here at the Biobank.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg_lqhw1cVQ

Our clinical team at the Cornell Veterinary Biobank has collected 76 dog blood samples - 43 from controls and 33 from canine patients with lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system. From each blood sample we extracted plasma, the liquid part of the blood. 

The main role of plasma is to take nutrients, hormones, and other important molecules to the parts of the body that need them. Importantly, blood plasma has many metabolites, which are small molecules created or used when the body digests food. These molecules include, among many others, amino acids (the building blocks of proteins), as well as fats and sugars. The body breaks down the food we eat in a process called metabolism, which generates from food the energy and the building blocks that the body needs to maintain its health and keep growing. 

When an individual is sick, however, the body is not able to work properly, and the metabolism is affected. This means that the type and abundance of metabolites in the blood plasma of sick individuals will be different from that of healthy individuals. By characterizing these differences, scientists can identify which individuals are sick even before they have any symptoms, identify how different diseases interfere with the normal activities of the body, and even identify potential cures.

To measure these molecules contained in the blood plasma of our dogs, we used a technology called mass-spectrometry. Different molecules are made of different atoms, and each atom has a different weight. A mass spectrometer is a machine that can measure the weight ("mass") of the different molecules in the plasma and can quantify how many molecules with a given weight there are. After passing our blood plasma samples through this machine, therefore, we identify which types of molecules are present in the plasma and how abundant they are, i.e., how many molecules of each type we have in that sample. 

The final product of the mass spectrometer is what we call a "metabolomics dataset", which includes numbers describing the abundance of each metabolite in each blood sample.

In our population of dogs, the metabolomics dataset included the abundance of 1,039 different metabolites: of these, 425 are different types of fats, and 28 are different types of sugars. The remaining 586 are other types of molecules that the body needs to function.

In the next phase of this project, we will analyze these data and identify which molecules have very different abundances in healthy versus diseased dogs. We call these molecules "differential metabolites", and they are important because they will help us better understand how the disease modifies the metabolism of the dogs. This information could potentially be used to identify better treatments for our canine companions. Moreover, we will also investigate whether the differential metabolites in dogs are the same we see in humans affected with the same disease. This comparison will help us better understand whether the disease has the same effect in the two species.”

Current canine cancer diagnosis is skyrocketing, and treatment for canine cancer is expensive! Extending the lives of the dogs we love and helping others pay for treatment they could not otherwise afford for their pet is at the heart of our efforts. Research is also costly, yet it is the only way to find cures and to improve and lengthen lives. It is up to us in the dog loving community to contribute to this effort. Up until now, getting funding into dog research has been really tough. Human research has been the priority. We now have a new field of research, Comparative Oncology, that ties successful treatment in dogs to successful treatment in humans.

What is Comparative Oncology?

Comparative Oncology is the study of the link between canine and human cancer. Dogs share our environment, our food, our lives. Because they are exposed to the same environment and get some of the same types of cancer, they make good study subjects. The Canine Genome Sequencing Project at the Broad Institute successfully mapped the genome of a boxer, named Tasha, in 2005. (See http://research.nhgri.nih.gov/dog_genome). The map of the genome has been used to confirm that many of the same genes involved in dog cancers are also involved in human cancers. Some examples include: Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, prostate cancer, head and neck carcinoma, mammary carcinoma, melanoma, soft tissue sarcoma, transitional cell carcinoma, and osteosarcoma. These efforts come at a critical time because there is growing difficulty in successful new drug development. Less than 1% of traditionally developed cancer treatments receive approval from the FDA because the developed drug doesn't translate well into human use. Comparative oncology proves that a link from humans to dogs does exist and successful canine treatment frequently leads to successful human treatment.

In Comparative Oncology cancer is NEVER introduced into a patient/research participant, it must develop spontaneously, just as it does in humans. Canine cancers also behave in biologically similar ways to human cancers. Unfortunately, with canine cancer rates skyrocketing, cancers occur in sufficient numbers for clinical trials and biological studies (a unique occurrence in the animal kingdom), but one that allows us to create and execute clinical trials and look for new and innovative treatments. Further, human owners are likely to consent to participate in clinical trial because current protocols are not as effective as hoped. The progression of cancer in companion animals is rapid, and therefore clinical trial also progresses more rapidly than in other models. Click to see on NIH wesite page. Because of this connection, the options available for canine treatment have expanded dramatically.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) believes so strongly in this vision, that the NCI Comparative Oncology Program was created in response. A repository of tissues and fluids (tumor and normal) from more than 3000 tumor bearing dogs has been created and is currently being maintained by Pfizer. Several clinical trials, including targeted delivery therapy in treatment of tumors are currently underway. Clisk to see Comparative Oncology Trials Consortium page. Additionally, a Canine Melanoma Vaccine has earned interim licensing from the Food & Drug Administration for use in veterinary oncology.

Furthermore, smaller canine gene pools and selective breeding offers extra benefits to science. Dogs offer a “shortcut” in advanced cancer research.