Early Detection of Canine Osteosarcoma
Purpose
Osteosarcoma is a common disease of dogs, with tens of thousands of new cases diagnosed each year in the United States. This disease is treatable, but not curable. Even with the best available standard of care, about 65% of dogs with osteosarcoma will die or be euthanized due to their disease within one year of diagnosis, more than 80% within two years, and more than 90% within three years.
The COED study (Canine Osteosarcoma Early Detection), supported by the Irish Wolfhound, Rottweiler, Great Dane, Golden Retriever, Irish Setter, and Leonberger breed foundations/clubs and by the AKC Canine Health Foundation (AKC CHF grant 03032-MOU), is designed to develop a reliable, minimally invasive blood-based test for early detection and risk assessment of canine osteosarcoma. Such a test could then be combined with strategic and rationally designed treatments to kill the tumors before they form. Since all large and giant dogs have an elevated risk of bone cancer, this work has the potential to benefit a multitude of breeds, as well as mixed-breed dogs. This study will recruit up to 400 large-breed dogs from a variety of backgrounds.
Participation requirements:
Dogs eligible for this study must:
- Be of one of these six breeds: Irish Wolfhounds, Rottweilers, Great Danes, Golden Retrievers, Irish Setters, and Leonbergers, OR:
- Be from other large and giant breeds, or large and giant dogs of mixed breeding, weighing more than 30 kg (66 lbs.) with a body condition score less than or equal to 6 out of 9 (as attested by a veterinary health professional)
- Be at least 4.5 years old
- Be currently healthy: no cancer, no undiagnosed “lumps or bumps” (including inside the oral cavity), no serious chronic health conditions – and still have their spleen
- Never have been diagnosed with any cancer
- Live in one of the contiguous 48 states of the United States of America (samples from Alaska and Hawaii and international samples, including from Canada and Mexico, cannot be accepted due to shipping constraints)
Owners’ responsibilities:
Owners who are interested in having their dogs participate in this study should review the study announcement.
- When a dog is enrolled, staff from the Modiano Lab (University of Minnesota) will send the vet clinic a sample collection kit with supplies and instructions for collecting whole blood, serum, and plasma. The dog’s vet clinic must be able to process plasma and serum in house and must be able to arrange to have FedEx pick up the samples the same day for overnight shipment back to the Modiano lab.
- Understand what costs sample submission may incur.
Enrollment: Once interested owners have determined that they are able to submit the samples as described above, they can visit the link below to fill out a short eligibility questionnaire for their dog: https://z.umn.edu/COED
Enrollment will be randomized, so every owner who completes a request during the open enrollment phase will have the same probability of being selected.
Scheduling: Due to shipping constraints and the number of samples per week that the study can process, it is important for owners to be patient as they wait for contact to schedule their enrolled dogs. Additional information is available in the study announcement
More Information
Name: Dr. Jaime Modiano
Phone: +1-612-626-6890 x1
Email: modiano@umn.edu
Help Future Generations of Dogs
Participate in canine health research by providing samples or by enrolling in a clinical trial. Samples are needed from healthy dogs and dogs affected by specific diseases.