Doggy Diseases

Dogs may be loyal pets, but they share more than our affection. These four-legged friends are affected by many of the same diseases that afflict their owners, including cancer. And because dogs have been selectively bred over the years, different types of cancer affect particular breeds. Golden retrievers – like this puppy – are predisposed to developing cancers affecting certain cells in the immune system, similar to the human disease non-Hodgkin lymphoma. They're also susceptible to a cancer that grows from the lining of the blood vessels, known as angiosarcoma in humans. By trawling through the DNA of hundreds of retrievers, researchers have discovered two neighbouring gene variations linked to an increased risk of both cancers. These changes seem to be located in the 'control switches' regulating certain genes that are important in immune cells, suggesting that a faulty immune response could lie at the heart of these illnesses.

Written by Kat Arney

Kat Arney

Writer

Dr Kat Arney is an award-winning science writer, broadcaster and public speaker, and is the founder and Creative Director of First Create The Media.

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• Image by Mike Lappin
• Originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)
• Research published in PLOS Genetics, March 2015