Turns out, a man's best friend might be at a higher risk of cancer due to six newfound genetic variants. The genetics study found cancer-linked variants in pre-disposed dog breeds, such as the Bernese mountain dog, the Rottweiler, and the Retriever. The study lead by Benoît Hédan at the University of Rennes resulted in "a known tumor-suppressor gene as a risk factor for histiocytic sarcoma — a rare and aggressive blood cancer that affects both dogs and humans — as well as identifying four new genetic loci associated with the disease."
More than 172 dogs were researched on and had their sequenced genomic DNA extracted from blood samples; those that tested with five or more mutations were found to be at a very high risk of developing blood cancer, along with other risks of lymphomas, osteosarcoma, and mast cell tumors.
Although a very sad discovery, it allows us a very understanding and study of these variations and cancer cells that will benefit dogs and humans as well.
Links:
https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1009395
This is so sad but I definitely agree with you that it does allow us to understand and study the variations and cancer cells. Not only will it benefit dogs, but humans as well. Being a dog owner this article hits home.
ReplyDeleteIt is so upsetting to hear that dogs are so susceptible to getting cancer. I have always been one who gets upset about running test on animals to test cures etc. However I do hope that the test that they run on dogs, due to them having a higher chance of having cancer, do provide in a higher yield in results and closer to cures.
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