Comparative Oncology Overview

Dogs and humans have much more in common than most realize. We actually share many of the same genes.

We also share many of the same environmental risk factors, live in comparable conditions, and are exposed to similar types of toxins. As a result, humans and canines experience many of the same types of cancers.  

Dogs and humans are the only two species that naturally develop lethal prostate cancers. The type of breast cancer that affects dogs spreads to bones – just as it does in humans. And the most frequent bone cancer of dogs, osteosarcoma, is the same cancer that strikes teenagers. These are just a very few examples of the cancer similarities that exist between our species. 

As a result, the study of cancer in canines is shaping our understanding of cancers in people and leading to additional treatment options. Based on our similarities, veterinary cancer research benefits both animals and humans with cancer.

The National Cancer Institute’s Center for Cancer Research has instituted a program where veterinary oncologists are using naturally occurring cancers in animals to better understand and treat cancer in humans.