Canine genome lymphoma research
Richard Daub, Reporter, North America
29 November 2007
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| Dogs and humans have similar cancers, partly because they share the same environment
Photo: Rodolfo Clix |
Scientists are to research genes associated with cancer in canines, following a five-year $1m grant from the US National Institutes of Health. Dr Matthew Breen, who has worked on sequencing the dog genome, will identify aberrant regions within the dog genome, and hopes to identify genetic candidates within the next few years.
The research is also expected to benefit humans. Dr Breen, of North Carolina State University, says the dog genome is very similar to the human one, but it is easier to pinpoint abnormal areas in dogs, owing to the lack of genetic variability within breeds. Variation becomes "squeezed out" over time as breeders try to get dogs that conform to the breed standard, he added.
Dogs and humans have similar cancers, partly because they share the same environment. For example, golden retrievers, one of the most popular breeds in the US, have a one-in-eight chance of developing lymphoma, which is almost identical to non-Hodgkins lymphoma in humans.
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