The first large-scale analysis of multiple types of cancer among cats have made discoveries that could help in treating cancer among humans and other animals. The researchers looked at tumours from nearly 500 pet cats in five countries.
Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the Ontario Veterinary College in Canada, the University of Bern, and other collaborators, identified key genetic alterations that are responsible for cancer in felines, finding that many of the changes closely resemble those identified in human cancers. The study was published in the journal Science.
Cats often share the same living environment as their owner, meaning they are likely to be exposed to similar cancer risk factors. By using DNA sequencing on tissue samples collected for veterinary diagnostics, the study showed that multiple genetic patterns in their cancers mirror those found in humans. One example is the similarity between feline mammary cancer and breast cancer in humans.
The findings suggest that genomics and clinical studies could explore multiple genetic pathways involved in cancer, potentially leading eventually to treatments that target the same mutations in both cats and people.
Nearly a quarter of British households own at least one cat and there are thought to be over ten million living in the UK. Cancer is among the leading cause of illnesses in the animals but the genetic basis has not been well understood.
This study, screening around 1,000 genes known to be linked to cancer in humans, is the first time that cat tumours have been analysed at such a scale.
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