Categorizing Mammary Tumors to Provide Better Prognostic Assessment

Mammary tumors are the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in cats. These tumors share many similarities with human breast cancers, and as in people, mammary cancers in cats vary greatly in outcome and response to therapy. Unlike human medicine, however, veterinary medicine has very little available information to help guide treatment in feline patients. Researchers will investigate whether highly aggressive feline mammary cancers that have a poor prognosis show different patterns of DNA defects compared with tumors having a more favorable outlook. The ability to better categorize feline mammary tumors will help veterinarians provide a more comprehensive diagnosis and prognostic assessment. This would allow owners and veterinarians to optimize clinical care of cats diagnosed with mammary cancer.