Working Toward an Early Diagnostic Test for Hemangiosarcoma

Hemangiosarcoma is a devastating cancer of dogs that affects the skin or internal organs such as the spleen and the heart. Dogs with HSA have poor survival times due to the tumor's aggressive behavior and rapid cancer spread. HSA is diagnosed via tissue biopsies; however, biopsies do not help predict if the cancer will have a benign or malignant behavior. To improve HSA prognosis, researchers are using molecules called microRNAs to develop a test they hope will detect the tumor in its early stages and predict tumor behavior. The team recently identified and will validate 90 microRNA candidates in dogs with HSA. The team also will explore if any of these markers can be detected in blood samples instead of tumor biopsies. An early test that can predict tumor behavior would greatly help veterinarians and owners make informed decisions on treatments, as well as potentially improve outcomes for individual dogs.