Morris Animal Foundation Works to Beat Canine Cancer

Maggie, my exuberant black lab, (in MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life) had her joyous life end much sooner than I ever dreamed she would. She was not quite 11, and was still full of energy and life when thyroid cancer cut our precious time together and her life way too short. According to the Morris Animal Foundation (MAF), cancer is the No. 1 cause of death in dogs over the age of 2. One in four dogs will die of cancer. How sad! Today I decided to feature MAF on my blog because they have "launched an unprecedented $30 million effort to cure canine cancer within a dog's lifetime – the next 10 to 20 years." I'd like to invite readers to please support them in this incredible effort.

From Morris Animal Foundation Website
(Canine Cancer Campaign Fact Sheet)

" ... Morris Animal Foundation has World–renowned veterinary scientists and cancer specialists agree that this MAF–led effort will not only save countless dogs from suffering and premature death, but should also help produce breakthroughs in the prevention, treatment, and cures of human cancers – in particular childhood cancers."
http://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/special-campaigns/ccc/

"Morris Animal Foundation launched the Canine Cancer Campaign with the goal of preventing and curing canine cancer, while also finding treatments for dogs suffering from the disease now. At the heart of the campaign is a commitment to the highest research standards, so we can launch a focused and strategic effort to end the great suffering that cancer creates for dogs and the families who love them.

MAF Campaign Goals:

•Provide new treatments for dogs currently suffering from cancer
•Establish a high-quality tumor sample bank that can be used by cancer researchers
•Develop prevention strategies so this disease might one day be eliminated or, at the very least, drastically reduced in incidence and severity
•Train new researchers who will work to find preventions, treatments and the ultimate cures

Highlights:

New Treatments: Numerous veterinary institutions are collaborating and conducting clinical trials with the purpose of developing improved cancer therapies for dogs. The first clinical trial has entered phase two and is looking at a promising drug to fight bone cancer (osteosarcoma). This clinical trial is coordinated by the National Cancer Institute’s Comparative Oncology Trials Consortium. We are poised to fund other multidisciplinary clinical trials if scientists identify treatments that look promising for helping dogs.

Tumor Sample Bank: Tumor tissue samples that originate from animals with thorough histories involving the age, breed, response to therapy and length of remission will help scientists determine why one dog with a specific cancer responds to therapy and another does not. The Pfizer-CCOGC Biospecimen Repository was established in 2007 with initial funding from MAF, Pfizer Animal Health and the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation. This project is overseen by the Canine Comparative Oncology and Genomics Consortium. The three-year goal is to populate the bank with at least 3,000 samples of the most common canine cancers.

Prevention: A panel of canine cancer experts helped us prioritize research into prevention strategies using genomic and epidemiologic approaches. Only through such critical long-term studies can scientists define all the genetic, nutritional and environmental risk factors for canine cancer. The first prevention study, at Colorado State University, is under way and will analyze cancer susceptibility in golden retrievers, of which an estimated 60 percent die of cancer. MAF recently received a financial pledge for funding a large-scale, longitudinal prevention study with multiple breeds and is working on the project plan. The Golden Retriever Foundation has also graciously pledged to fund innovative strategies to prevent cancer in that breed.

Training: Training new cancer researchers is critical to curing cancer. The Animal Cancer Center Cancer Biology Program, established at Colorado State University through MAF funding, is now in its fourth year of training students who plan to become scientists. With the support of MAF funding, the University of Minnesota will soon launch a similar program."

Please donate to the Morris Animal Foundation to help cure canine cancer: https://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/donate/cure-canine-cancer/

To learn more visit www.CureCanineCancer.org.

Posted by:

Dawn Kairns
Author of MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life
website: www.dawnkairns.com
blog: www.maggiethedogwhochangedmylife.blogspot.com
twitter: www.twitter.com/themaggiebook