Predicting Chemotherapy Drug Response for Dogs with Bone Cancer

Each year, at least 8,000 dogs in the United States are diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a painful and aggressive cancer that originates in the bone. Current treatment options include amputation of the affected limb followed by chemotherapy to curb cancer metastasis or spread. Recent studies have shown that cancer gene signatures – patterns of how genes are expressed within individual tumors – can predict whether a tumor will respond to a specific chemotherapy drug. Determining a tumor's gene signature allows patients to be treated with drugs most likely to provide the greatest therapeutic benefit. The research team will test a newly developed, computer-based, gene-expression model's ability to determine the best chemotherapy protocol for dogs with osteosarcoma based on the tumor's gene signature.