Oncology Clinic

CANCER AND TUMOR DISEASES
A man wearing burgundy medical clothing, a face mask and glasses stands in front of a table. On the table is a Chihuahua with light fur. Next to the table are two women wearing blue medical clothing and face masks, their hands on the dog on the table.

We provide highly specialized treatment for dogs and cats with tumor diseases. At our specialist clinic for oncology (tumors), veterinarians with a focus on oncology work 2 days a week.

We offer both advanced surgical treatment and several different types of cytostatic therapies. Our goal is to increase the quality of life for dogs and cats with tumor diseases, both during and after treatment. Here at SLU, we conduct continuous research into tumor treatment, which means that there may be the possibility of completely new forms of therapy that we can offer our patients.

Cancer in dogs

Like humans, cancer is a common disease in our dogs. In fact, it is the biggest reason why our dogs die, along with accidents and trauma. At least one in four dogs will die from cancer. In some breeds, as many as half of dogs are affected by tumors during their lifetime. Why is cancer so common and what can we do to understand the disease better and, in the long run, reduce the proportion of dogs with cancer?

Our dogs have gained a higher status and live longer today. This is thanks to expanded veterinary care, good vaccines and a great focus on better knowledge about feeding dogs. As dogs get older, the proportion of cancer increases. Cancer is primarily a disease of the elderly individual. This is because the immune system weakens as you get older. Therefore, strange and broken cells are allowed to remain and some of these acquire properties that make them cancer cells. In addition, the repair mechanisms in the body deteriorate as we get older and the proportion of defective and broken cells increases.

Today, cancer is primarily treated with surgery. It can be cured if it is performed in time and if the cancer is not too aggressive. It is important to gain good knowledge about which tumor it is before deciding what is appropriate to do. As veterinarians, we do this primarily via so-called cytology (cell samples) from the tumor and by performing various forms of imaging diagnostics (X-rays, ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging). It is important to know as much as possible about the dog's situation and tumor type before deciding on treatment. Otherwise, there is a risk that surgery is performed on tumors that should not be operated on and where the disease has already spread. This causes the dog to endure unnecessary suffering and affects the quality of life. It also entails unnecessary costs for dog owners and insurance companies.

Other common treatment methods today for cancer in dogs are chemotherapy, radiation therapy and various forms of immunotherapy. The most common goal is to reduce the problem of cancer for the dog and to slow down the deterioration. In veterinary oncology, we often see cancer as a chronic disease, where we want to stabilize the dog and give the dog the best quality of life possible. Since we cannot ask the dog himself, this is wise. In humans, you are more aggressive, but there you can also decide for yourself which treatments you want. The dog also does not know that it has cancer - which is a great advantage. However, the dog knows whether it is feeling good or bad. Our task is therefore to make the dog feel as good as possible!

SLU has a broad research focus, where we are partly interested in understanding why tumors arise. Genetic studies are important here. We collect samples from dogs with cancer and when you have enough individuals with the same diagnosis, you can compare the genome with healthy controls and see if there are areas that differ between sick and healthy. Then we can get guidance on where things went wrong. From this, we can create genetic tests to see if a dog is at greater risk of getting cancer, but also increase understanding of the cause of cancer and perhaps create new medications that slow down the development of cancer.

Another area that is important is early detection of cancer. If we can detect cancer when it is as small as possible, we have a greater chance of treating it successfully. At SLU, we have been looking for a long time at biomarkers in the blood that can be elevated in cancer. This gives us a better basis for suggesting further examinations to confirm cancer. We also follow up dogs that have been treated for cancer, so we can see early on if the cancer has returned.

1. Abnormal swellings that persist for a long time and continue to grow 
2. Wounds that do not heal 
3. Weight loss 
4. Loss of appetite 
5. Bleeding or discharge from body openings 
6. Bad odor 
7. Difficulty eating or swallowing 
8. Reluctance to move or lack of energy 
9. Persistent limping or stiffness 
10. Difficulty breathing, urinating or defecating

When cancer is treated early, we do not need to be as aggressive in the treatment to push back the disease and the dog's quality of life improves. Therefore, research with biomarkers is important for animal welfare. If we can also find useful biomarkers in dogs that also work in humans, we will have gained even more. Today we have good biomarkers for the disease malignant lymphoma/leukemia in dogs and bladder cancer, but we would like to increase the proportion of tumors where biomarkers are useful.

Finally, it is important to develop better treatment methods once you have cancer. Here we have had projects to find new types of chemotherapy, which give fewer side effects while being as effective or better against the tumors we treat. As I have already mentioned, dogs have many tumor types that are similar to those we see in humans. In addition, dogs have a normal immune system and get cancer spontaneously. This means that diagnostics and treatment that work in dogs are very likely to also work in humans. Therefore, man's best friend can help us in more ways than we normally think.

Our cancer research aims to improve the quality of life and health of our dogs, but if we can also help children and adults with cancer cope better, it feels even more motivated to research this important disease. Thank you for supporting research into canine cancer!

Henrik Rönnberg, Professor of Veterinary Pharmacology, VMD, Step-2 Specialist in Oncology for Dogs and Cats, Diplomate ECVIM-CA (oncology)

Sara Saellström, Veterinarian, Step-1 Specialist in Oncology for Dogs and Cats, Board Eligible ECVIM-CA (oncology) and Doctor of Clinical Research, Immuno-Oncology at the Faculty of Human Medicine, University of Helsinki.

  • The Small Animal Clinic
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