Dog Update - Summer 2022 - 3

Dog Update
bladder cancer, Lauren A. Trepanier,
DVM, PhD, DACVIM, DACVCP, the Melita
Grunow Family Professor in Companion
Animal Health at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, is hopeful that
dogs may help identify risks for the
cancer in both species.
In their studies, the researchers at
Wisconsin have found that dogs and
their owners share household exposures
to certain chemicals that have been
linked to bladder cancer in people.
While healthy dogs had two to six
times higher urine concentrations of
the carcinogenic chemicals acrolein
and arsenic than their healthy owners,
high levels in the dog were linked to
relatively high levels of the same
chemicals in their owners.
" Dogs are smaller and closer to the
ground, and they tend to roll in the
grass and groom themselves, which
could explain the higher levels in dogs, "
says Dr. Trepanier. " The link between
higher urine chemical levels in dogs
and their owners suggests a shared
source of these chemicals. "
A current researcher of environmental
cancer risk in dogs, Dr. Trepanier first
studied genetic and environmental
risk factors associated with adverse
drug reactions. " The same pathways
that break down reactive drugs break
down reactive chemical carcinogens, "
she says. " My research now focuses
on whether certain chemicals are
associated with bladder cancer and
lymphoma in dogs and whether people
who share households with dogs that
are diagnosed with these cancers also
have a higher exposure to these same
chemicals. This may allow us to 'flag'
a household with higher household
chemical exposures to air and water
pollutants that contribute to cancer.
The ultimate goal is to prevent certain
exposures in dogs at high risk for these
cancers and perhaps identify chemical
exposures in their owners that could
also be prevented. "
Darin Collins, DVM, CEO of the AKC
Canine Health Foundation, which provides
funding support for this research, says,
" The work being done by Dr. Trepanier
and her group is tremendously exciting.
We are beginning to develop a picture
of ways that owners can make choices
for their dogs that may help to prevent
some cancers. The One Health nature
of this research is raising awareness of
environmental cancer risks and potentially
may impact lifestyle changes. "
Dr. Trepanier also researched the
association of tap-water contaminants
with bladder cancer and of air pollution
with lymphoma in dogs, particularly
in Boxers, a breed predisposed to the
highly aggressive T-cell lymphoma.
This study was published in March 2022
in Veterinary and Comparative Oncology.
Matching the dogs' home addresses
to their counties of residence, the
3
PHOTO: GAY GALZBROOK
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/vco.12771 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/vco.12771
Dog Update - Summer 2022

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