Studying Genetic Drivers of Histiocytic Sarcoma Tumors

Cancer researchers have been improving treatments for different cancers by identifying genetic variants (errors in the genetic code) in the tumors, and by identifying or developing new drugs that can turn off the instructions of these variants to make more cancer cells. However, since many cancers have more than one alteration in their genetic codes, drugs studied in the laboratory don’t always work as expected in the patient. Cancers that start in certain types of cells either have exactly the same genetic code errors or may have genetic code errors at different points along the same set of instructions. Researchers have found that for a type of canine cancer called histiocytic sarcoma, about half of dogs have the same type of genetic code error. Researchers want to find out what genetic code errors are occurring in the other half of the dogs with this aggressive cancer. To fill this knowledge gap, the team will conduct a genome-wide screening of histiocytic sarcoma tumors and cells. The team will look for changes in the cell codes and biological mechanisms in histiocytic sarcoma tumors and cells. The team also will test cell lines for drug sensitivity. The team hopes their findings will help identify the best markers for predicting how this cancer progresses in different dogs and response to different treatments.