Pet dogs with cancer have catalysed the translation of preclinical discoveries to first-in-human trials, highlighting the unique power of comparative oncology to study veterinary and human patients with cancer in parallel. However, the full potential of this approach has yet to be harnessed. Here we highlight accomplishments in oncology due to trials in dogs and discuss the next steps to advance comparative oncology.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$32.99 /Â 30Â days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Siegel, R. L., Giaquinto, A. N. & Jemal, A. Cancer statistics, 2024. CA Cancer J. Clin. 74, 12–49 (2024).
LeBlanc, A. K. & Mazcko, C. N. Improving human cancer therapy through the evaluation of pet dogs. Nat. Rev. Cancer 20, 727–742 (2020).
LeBlanc, A. K. et al. Perspectives from man’s best friend: National Academy of Medicine’s Workshop on Comparative Oncology. Sci. Transl. Med. 8, 324ps5 (2016).
Mendez-Gomez, H. R. et al. RNA aggregates harness the danger response for potent cancer immunotherapy. Cell 187, 2521–2535.e21 (2024).
Gedney, A. et al. Evaluation of the anti-tumour activity of Coriolus versicolor polysaccharopeptide (I’m-Yunity) alone or in combination with doxorubicin for canine splenic hemangiosarcoma. Vet. Comp. Oncol. 20, 688–696 (2022).
Weishaar, K. M. et al. Multicenter, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study of rabacfosadine in dogs with lymphoma. J. Vet. Intern. Med. 36, 215–226 (2022).
Lenz, J. A. et al. Identification of immune suppressor candidates utilizing comparative transcriptional profiling in histiocytic sarcoma. Cancer Immunol. Immunother. 74, 61 (2025).
Amin, S. B. et al. Comparative molecular life history of spontaneous canine and human gliomas. Cancer Cell 37, 243–257.e7 (2020).
Mazcko, C. & Thomas, R. The establishment of the Pfizer-Canine Comparative Oncology and Genomics Consortium Biospecimen Repository. Vet. Sci. 2, 127–130 (2015).
Wyngaarden, J. B. The clinical investigator as an endangered species. N. Engl. J. Med. 301, 1254–1259 (1979).
Acknowledgements
M.J.A. is supported by an NIH-NCI Career Development Award (K08CA252619). J.A.L. is supported by the Miso Harris Fund for Canine Cancer Research. The authors are very grateful for the constructive input during the drafting of this manuscript from L. King, A. LeBlanc, C. Mazcko, E. Puré and S. Volk.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lenz, J.A., Atherton, M.J. Maximizing the dual benefit of pet dogs in cancer trials. Nat Rev Cancer 25, 147–148 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41568-025-00792-0
Published:
Version of record:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41568-025-00792-0
