Research - 2011 Studies

Dogs give us unconditional love, loyalty and companionship. Unfortunately, cancer and other diseases take our canine companions from us far too soon. As a world leader in advancing canine health and welfare for more than 60 years, Morris Animal Foundation is committed to creating a healthier tomorrow for dogs.

Morris Animal Foundation’s Canine Lifetime Health Project is a groundbreaking, long-term effort to learn how to prevent cancer and other canine diseases. The project will determine the genetic, nutritional and environmental risk factors for cancer and other diseases that affect dogs, and is the largest and longest study of dogs ever undertaken. Structured as a ten- year study with over 2,500 dogs, this study will surely give us groundbreaking information and new data that will help us find a cure!

Working with scientists, veterinarians and dog parents, Morris Animal Foundation is helping to prevent canine diseases so dogs can live longer, healthier lives.

Click here to learn more.

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Principal Investigator: Dr. Rachael Thomas, North Carolina State University

Each year, as many as 22,000 cats in the U.S. develop sarcomas at the site of a vaccine or other injection. Because these injection site–associated sarcomas (ISASs) are typically more aggressive and prone to recurrence than spontaneous sarcomas that are not injection related, they often require more urgent and radical therapeutic intervention. Distinguishing between ISASs and non-ISASs is essential for optimizing clinical management and outcome for each patient, but at present there are no efficient and definitive means for diagnosis. This study uses state-of-the-art microarray-based technology to identify DNA-based markers that may provide more powerful diagnostic and prognostic tools for evaluating these tumors. These data will highlight cancer-associated gene defects as potential new therapeutic targets and will provide a wealth of comparative data that will advance feline molecular oncology studies.

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Principal Investigator: Dr. Elizabeth A. McNiel, Michigan State University

Feline oral squamous cell carcinoma is a common cancer affecting older cats. Prognosis is poor, even with aggressive treatment involving surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Most cats die due to progressive growth of the cancer in the mouth, which causes discomfort and interferes with eating, drinking and even breathing. The failure of conventional treatments to significantly improve health or prolong life in cats affected by this cancer underscores the importance of developing new strategies to treat the disease. One such approach involves targeting the tumor blood supply. The growth of a tumor is critically dependent upon its ability to develop blood vessels, a process called angiogenesis. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of a synthetic protein in preventing growth of tumor blood vessels. If effective, this protein could lead to better treatment for this often fatal cancer.

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