Uncertainty in mammary cancer outcomes: Comparative oncology to the rescue!

Canine mammary cancer (CMC) is one of the most common neoplasms in intact females in comparison to other species. Several risk factors have been identified, including breed, genetic predisposition, age, reproductive history, hormonal influence, diet, and body condition, in addition to previous lesions to the mammary gland, such as mammary atypical hyperplasia. An understanding of the genetic markers for the disease and a clinical approach are important for establishing a specific therapy that can allow adequate patient survivorship. Overexpression of the HER-2 gene in canines and humans is associated with a poor clinical prognosis, mainly short survivorship, although the clinical relationship is not clear. The incidence of HER-2 in female dogs can range from 29.7% to 38%. However, overexpression of HER-2 is not necessarily associated with malignancy processes of the mammary tissue, although it participates in cellular proliferation. Finally, canines remain one of the most important models for comparative oncology with humans due to the great similarity in the spontaneous presentation and development of cancer, and in the high homology in the amino acid sequence.

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Abstract C46: ErbB-1 and ErbB-2 overexpression in canine mammary cancer and their role as targets in comparative oncology

10.1158/1538-7445.fbcr11-c46 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

Marlene Weichselbaumer ◽

Josef Singer ◽

Erika Jensen-Jarolim ◽

Thomas Stockner ◽

Diana Mechtcheriakova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mammary Cancer ◽

Comparative Oncology ◽

Canine Mammary Cancer

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A Study on the Relationship Between Tumor Size, Tumor Grade and Lymph Node Involvement in Canine Mammary Cancer: Simulation of Tumor Behavior in Human Breast Cancer

Basic & Clinical Cancer Research ◽

10.18502/bccr.v12i4.7983 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sanaz Rismanchi ◽

Pejman Mortazavi ◽

Samad Muhammadnejad

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Lymph Node ◽

Tumor Size ◽

Mammary Cancer ◽

Tumor Grade ◽

Lymph Node Involvement ◽

Lymph Node Status ◽

Comparative Oncology ◽

Canine Mammary Cancer ◽

Node Involvement

Background: In the last two decades, canine mammary cancer has played an essential role in human breast cancer research. There are various similarities between biological and clinical features of canine breast cancer and female breast cancer in many cases. Clinical studies and evaluation of prognostic factors in canine mammary cancer can increase reliability in generalizing results to human cancers. This study was performed in the direction of comparative oncology. Methods: We collected clinicopathological data of an invasive type of canine mammary carcinoma from clinical records and pathology reports. Age, tumor laterality, tumor size, lymph node status, and tumor grade were recorded, and the relationships between the parameters were evaluated using linear regression analysis. Results: Ninety-seven patients were included in the study, and the mean age was 10.06 ± 2.73 years. The left mammary gland was involved in 51% of cases, and pT2 was the most common tumor size. Lymph nodes were involved in 27% of patients, and 43% of tumors were grade I. Statistical analysis showed no relationship between tumor size and laterality with other clinicopathological features. However, there was a statistically significant relationship between tumor size and tumor grade, and lymph node status. As the tumor size increased, tumor grade and the risk of lymph node involvement raised. Conclusion: Similar results of this study to breast cancer in women show that canine mammary carcinoma is a suitable model in comparative oncology research. Dogs live shorter than humans so that researchers can get the results of treatment and perform survival rate assessments faster in clinical trials. By considering ethical principles, dogs with breast cancer may replace phases I and II of human clinical trials in some cancer types soon.

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