Lucky Pet Dogs Receive Experimental Cancer Treatments Before Their Humans

By Clay Dillow Posted 10.13.2009 at 3:11 pm 8 Comments

A Dog's Life Canines with cancer are undergoing experimental treatments that could advance cures for cancers in both humans and dogs. Peter Wadsworth

Animal rights activists, take note: when it comes to experimental cancer treatments, American pet dogs are now in line in front of humans, participating in trials that in several cases have destroyed cancers completely.

Dogs experience cancer in ways similar to humans, making them preferable research subjects to lab rats and mice, whose experimental settings are too regimented to reflect a human reaction to cancers. Those human-like reactions have granted dying dogs access to treatments ahead of dying humans in some cases, allaying some ethical fears while stirring up others.

Like humans, dogs suffer from various cancers that spread to form secondaries and grow resistant to drugs over time. Dogs can also relapse just as humans do, giving researchers a much better picture of how effective a drug can be at destroying a particular cancer or sending it into remission. These similarities make dogs ideal candidates for testing of cancer drugs, and as such a group of 19 veterinary institutions currently has 12 different trials underway on groups ranging from 15 to 60 dogs.

Some of the experimental treatments have undergone human testing and simply require additional animal data before clearing regulatory hurdles, but many have not been tested in humans at all. Owners can choose between conventional or experimental drugs, weighing the possible risks and benefits of each as well as the reduced cost of care that comes with participating in a clinical trial. In addition to caring for their sick pets, owners collaborate on the research, keeping detailed notebooks on appetite, demeanor, quality of life, etc.

The fact that the dogs develop the cancers naturally and that owners continue to care for them at home (rather than penning them inside a research facility) has muted some of the usual blowback from animal rights groups. Pet owners are motivated by the opportunity to allow their pets to contribute to advances in medicine, and because the owners, rather than the experimenters, consent to the trials, there is an added ethical layer to the experiments, as the assumption is that the owner will do what is best for the dog rather than what is best for the trial. Still, some groups have opposed the treatments, claiming they open the door for wider animal testing for treatments deemed too dangerous for humans.

In the meantime, researchers see it as a humane way to feel out the efficacy and safety of treatments before moving on to human trials. European researchers are treating the American consortium as an experiment of their own, keeping a watchful eye on the program as they consider whether or not to join.

[New Scientist, PhysOrg]

Previous Article: General Electric Chooses Hawaiian Resort as Test Site for Smart Grid

Next Article: Scientists Observe Live Human Cells Communicating For the First Time

8 Comments

Link to this comment

veegun

10/15/09 at 9:32 pm

"has muted some of the usual blowback from animal rights groups"

Usual blowback?? So causing pain and suffering to other sentient beings in order to find a cure to a disease for another sentient being is not a little whacked?? Who gave you dominion over Earth's creatures?? Their lives mean just as much to them as ours do to us. To dismiss that fact is outright denial. There's your blowback.

Link to this comment

Observer

10/17/09 at 6:34 pm

Easy there veeg. I lost a dog to cancer. He went a lot earlier than he should have. This program could have helped. Clay's comment might be a bit insensitive, but the rest of the story has a ton of upside for people and animals. At least it's a small step in the right direction.

Link to this comment

shinjoeakuma

10/18/09 at 8:47 pm

"Who gave you dominion of Earth's creatures?"

Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

God gave man dominion over Earth's creatures. Clear enough?

Link to this comment

labs454

10/24/09 at 11:12 pm

Excellent program that I strongly support. We depend on dogs all of the time.They should be able to depend on us.

William Williford
Breeder of AKC Labrador Retrievers
www.sclabradorretriever.com

Link to this comment

catieroche

01/05/10 at 10:11 am

I totally support this cause. If we can't meet a dog's basic health needs, food, shelter and proper care, we should not have a dog.

-Catie
Dog blogger and owner of two golden retrievers
www.dogkennelcough.net

Link to this comment

buddiespet

07/15/10 at 5:56 am

This is great news really! Our dogs are as precious as our children and to think that the treatment may in fact prolong their life in a home environment is fantastic. Maybe we may take risk with terminal human patients.

www.buddiespetholidays.co

Link to this comment

vtsai

11/23/10 at 4:05 am

I don’t see any problems ethically or morally if the experiments are for dogs that already have some form of cancer. Tests done on otherwise healthy dogs are a big no-no.

Regards,
Sherwin Chen
www.hipetusa.com/products-page

Link to this comment

bisleshan

01/02/11 at 8:51 am

I think it is good that they are treating dogs with cancer. I don't think there is any ethical or moral problem with it. I hope they are successful in it
www.hipetusa.com

Popular Tags

Science

All Tags All Photos All Videos

Science

+ More Photo Galleries

July 2013: The Future Of Flight

The incredible innovations, like drone swarms and perpetual flight, bringing aviation into the world of tomorrow. Plus: today's greatest sci-fi writers predict the future, the science behind the summer's biggest blockbusters, a Doctor Who-themed DIY 'bot, the organs you can do without, and much more.