Grant Amount: $12,960

Dr. Stuart Helfand, DVM, Oregon State University

April 1, 2012 - September 30, 2013

Sponsor(s): American Bullmastiff Association, German Shepherd Dog Club of America, Irish Setter Club of America Foundation

Breed(s): Irish Wolfhound

Disease(s): Osteosarcoma

Research Program Area: Oncology - Osteosarcoma

Abstract

Canine osteosarcoma (OSA) is the most common primary bone tumor in dogs, comprising 85% of all bone malignancies and affecting up to 10,000 dogs in the Unites States annually and is almost always fatal due to spread (metastasis). In an effort to develop novel therapeutics to circumvent the progression of this disease, key factors regulating tumor cell invasion and metastasis to surrounding tissues must be identified. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is one such factor as is it is known to contribute to motility, migration, and invasion by canine and human OSA tumor cells. The recent introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), drugs that target growth pathways in cells such as that sparked by HGF, offer new opportunities to improve therapy for canine OSA. The purpose of this study is to evaluate how HGF contributes to canine OSA cell migration and invasion and begin to explore the potential to block HGF effects by switching off this circuit with several TKIs that target different points in the HGF pathway. TKIs have been implicated in decreasing the adhesiveness and motility of various types of human cancer cells, which may serve to inhibit the spread of highly metastatic tumors such as canine OSA.