With the help of FidoCure® therapy, Rocky experienced a notably good quality of life for 18 months after his initial diagnosis of hemangiosarcoma. History and Initial Therapy Rocky Davis, a 9-year-old male neutered mixed breed, was presented to UGA Internal Medicine service on March 19, 2020 for lethargy, guarded abdomen, lip-smacking and unwillingness to eat breakfast. Full workup showed a caudal abdominal mass with peritoneal effusion and a splenic nodule, however there was no pulmonary metastasis evident. Rocky was taken to surgery to have the abdominal mass removed and the liver was biops ..read more

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I may be dating myself, but there was an old TV commercial from the 1970s (and thanks to YouTube you can watch it below) that featured people in a restaurant talking about investing. And when one of the men at the table mentions that his broker is E.F. Hutton, the entire restaurant, including the waiters, go silent and listen for what the gentlemen is going to say. The catchphrase of the advertising campaign associated with the commercial is “When E.F. Hutton talks, everyone listens." For me, I feel the same reverence for certain scientific figures. One of which is Dr. Ned Sharpless, the hea ..read more

Dear FidoCure® Community, While we had hoped 2021 would be the year things go back to normal, it was not to be. For the veterinary profession and for the world, 2021 was slightly better than 2020 but it was still extremely challenging. Thank you for your resilience, your devotion to patients, and your commitment to the calling of veterinary oncology. We are honored that you are part of our FidoCure® community and we deeply appreciate your support. May 2022 bring with it better conditions for our profession and for the world so we may thrive and continue to deliver medicine with care and com ..read more

Alsaihati, Burair A., Ho, Kun-Lin, et al. Nature Communications 2021. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24836-9 A pan-cancer, pan-breed analysis of canine tumors 684 cases with matched tumor and normal samples analysed Over 7 common cancers and over 35 popular breeds were included in this study Most of the somatic mutations were tumor type-dependent and breed-independent Tumor Mutational Burden (TMB) is associated with p53 mutations Some breeds of dog were confirmed via breed-specific germline variant analysis While both osteosarcoma and oral melanoma both have frequent alterations in the p53 pathw ..read more

Genomics is fast becoming an essential part of veterinary oncology. It touches upon all aspects of practice, from diagnostics to therapeutics. Genetic information can be incredibly useful in terms of making a more accurate diagnosis or making a more precise prognosis, or even determining what therapy to use or what order to use different therapies. Dr. Shaying Zhao  is a pioneer in the field of comparative oncology. She is a scientist, professor, and researcher. Dr. Zhao was the first to propose and use novel dog-human comparison strategy for cancer driver-passenger discrimination, a cen ..read more

In an era of social distancing, telemedicine and technology keeps us connected to our patients, clients, and community. Veterinarians, especially those with families, lead busy and demanding lives. On top of that, the global pandemic is continuously challenging veterinary professionals in all aspects of work. Providing quality medical care while juggling childcare or eldercare is hard enough. Piling on continuing education courses, maintaining professional contacts, and contributing to the advancement of our profession through mentorship and research -- “It’s a lot” is an understatement. Coul ..read more

In recent academic literature, there have been more and more publications documenting that biochemical pathways in canine cancer cells are often dysregulated, and therefore, targeted therapies are likely of value. Over 20 peer reviewed publications showcase these points. Here are a few: Hemangiosarcoma (HSA) Molecular subtypes in canine hemangiosarcoma reveal similarities with human angiosarcoma Treatment of canine haemangiosarcoma with suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid, a histone deacetylase inhibitor Histiocytic Sarcoma Development of an Orthotopic Intrasplenic Xenograft Mouse Model of Canin ..read more