media: Veterinarians: Pets can help with cancer research

The Associated Press

HOUSTON —

"Leading Texas veterinarians are mobilizing to enlist pets in the testing of experimental cancer therapies, a potential benefit to not just dogs and cats but people.
The veterinarians recently set up a registry they hope will connect pet owners and cancer researchers and show that diseased pets — dogs in particular — are better predictors of the efficacy of new cancer drugs and devices in people than mice, oncologists' favorite test subject historically.
"Dogs may be man's best friend in more ways than one," says Dr. Theresa Fossum, a Texas A&M professor of veterinary surgery and founder of the Texas Veterinary Cancer Registry. "Because they suffer from cancers that are nearly identical to those in humans, but quicker to run their course, they can speed up and make more reliable the process of determining whether a therapy will work."
Veterinarians are just starting to get the ear of cancer researchers......"

"The pet cancer registry is just the beginning. Fossum has plans, once she gets grant money, to launch pet registries for heart and kidney disease too."