Cancer holds the dubious distinction of being a disease that touches virtually everyone and everything, even dogs. You need not look far to find someone who has lost a beloved family pet to cancer – the disease is the number one cause of death among dogs.
According to the National Cancer Institute’s Center for Cancer Research, there are approximately six million new cancer diagnoses made in dogs each year.
But it’s not just the prevalence of cancer that makes it so deadly for our canine companions, it’s the stage at which the disease is detected and the limited treatment options available for advanced forms of cancer.
However, thanks to an innovative new test, such obstacles may no longer exist. And it all started with a dog named Poppy.
The inspiration: Poppy
In 2019, Dr. Andi Flory was treating an eight-pound, mixed-breed rescue dog named Poppy. A veterinarian specializing in oncology, Dr. Flory had become increasingly tired of seeing dogs diagnosed late with cancer; at a point where the disease was so widespread that few treatment options remained.
There is nothing more “human” than wanting to help man’s best friend. Said Dr. Flory, “I just wanted to be in a position to help, and to not be able to help was kind of soul crushing.”
So, when she discovered that four-year-old Poppy had advanced pancreatic cancer, it felt like yet another dog whose diagnosis came too late.
The disease progressed quickly, and Poppy eventually succumbed to cancer less than two months after her diagnosis. Her family was devastated. But Poppy’s story would soon make a big impact.
Through the course of Poppy’s treatment, Dr. Flory had gotten to know her family, the Grosus. She learned that Dr. Daniel Grosu was a physician who specialized in liquid biopsy. He was the first chief medical officer for Illumina, an applied genomics technology company.
The two bonded over Poppy’s care and a shared desire to detect cancer early in dogs and help prevent as many pets as possible from meeting a similar fate.
During one of their conversations, Dr. Grosu reflected on his work in healthcare technology and advancements that had been made to improve human health. He asked Dr. Flory whether she thought veterinarians would be willing to use a blood test to detect cancer. When she emphatically said “yes,” it was clear they were on to something.
A new venture and a revolutionary approach
In 2019, just a few months after Poppy’s death, doctors Grosu and Flory founded PetDx, a molecular diagnostics company focused on the early detection of cancer in dogs.
The new venture hit the ground running with the development of OncoK9, a revolutionary blood-based multi-cancer early detection liquid biopsy test.
OncoK9 allows veterinarians to detect cancer in dogs with a simple blood draw. As a multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test, OncoK9 utilizes genomic analysis that leverages next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology and proprietary bioinformatics algorithms.
Simply put, OncoK9 provides a non-invasive means of detecting alterations in a dog’s DNA that indicate the presence of cancer. And it’s certainly conceivable that the more we learn about how cancer acts in dogs, this could also translate into new findings in human cancer.
“We’re looking for circulating tumor DNA and the genomic alterations – DNA mutations that happen with cancer and are the cause of cancer,” said Dr. Flory. “It’s essentially a test that is detecting the presence of tumor DNA in a blood sample.”
Putting the test to the test
In 2019, PetDx launched a clinical validation study, known as the Cancer Detection in Dogs, or CANDiD study. The study included a population of 1,100 dogs and took place in 41 different clinical sites across four continents.
The results of the study were conclusive and validated OncoK9 as an accurate, reliable means of detecting cancer early in dogs.
Specifically, the study found that the test had high sensitivity and a very low 1.5% false positive rate, which is similar to human liquid biopsy tests. The test successfully detected 30 different cancer types from a simple blood draw, including some of the more common – and most aggressive – cancers in dogs: lymphoma, osteo sarcoma, and hemangiosarcoma.
Practical application and key benefits
All veterinarians in the US and Canada now have access to OncoK9, and the adoption rate continues to rise as more and more practitioners recognize the value of the test as a screening tool for dogs at high risk of cancer due to their age or breed.
But according to Dr. Flory, the benefits of the test extend beyond early detection.
“Early detection before it’s spread is one advantage – if you can do that, there are key benefits and outcomes as it impacts your ability to treat the disease,” she said. “But another key benefit is early clinical detection – before dogs are really sick and before the disease.”
Dr. Flory says that early clinical detection has proven benefits in terms of survival rates and a better response to treatment among dogs.
“Dogs can have better outcomes – they live longer, have better remission times. They can generally tolerate the therapy better if we’re starting from a place where they’re feeling better. We can often avoid emergency situations where they’re very sick and require immediate attention.”
But perhaps one of the greatest benefits of the test is that it enables both veterinarians and families to make well-informed decisions. With the insight gained from OncoK9, families have more time to consider the available treatment options and better prepare for the next steps in care.
What’s next?
Whereas there are guidelines for the detection of cancer in humans, currently no such guidance exists for dogs. Dr. Flory hopes to change that.
“Cancer screening should be part of the standard of care, and we’re working to make that a part of the conversation.”
The PetDx team also recently published a study aimed at better understanding the age at which cancer occurs in dogs in order to guide specific recommendations on when screening should begin. The study, which examined more than 3,400 dogs, led to a recommendation to begin screening at the age of seven for all dogs and as early as age four for breeds at higher risk of cancer.
The study served as the catalyst for the development of an online tool, OncoK9 Cancer SAFE (Screening Age for Early detection). A free resource, Cancer SAFE uses data from the 3,000+ dogs studied to, “determine the age at which it may be appropriate to start annual cancer screening for your dog.”
But at the end of the day, Dr. Flory says the number one priority for PetDx remains educating both vets and pet parents on the importance of early detection.
“As veterinarians, we want to help and having this information early better equips us to do that. Families can approach their pet’s care from a calmer, more calculated place – they are in control and have ownership of important decisions.”
