Dear Friends,

 

When 13-year-old Lucy, a happy and active Golden Retriever, was diagnosed with melanoma on her leg, her care team acted quickly. She had surgery and received the melanoma vaccine (Oncept) to help prevent metastasis.

 

But a few months later, a new tumor appeared on her shoulder. The cancer was spreading.

 

That’s when Lucy’s vet turned to genomic tumor profiling, a powerful tool that analyzes a tumor’s DNA mutations.

 

The test revealed high levels of CDK4 and CDK6, enzymes that drive cancer cell growth when overactive.

 

With this information, Lucy was started on palbociclib, a CDK4/6 inhibitor used in human oncology. She takes the drug orally at home.

Five months later, she remains clinically stable, with no signs of disease progression.

 

Date: July 16, 2025
Time: 1pm EST
Speaker: Dr. Guannan Wang, CEO of VetOmics

 

In human medicine, Comprehensive Genomic Profiling (CGP) has been changing how cancer is treated by matching tumors to targeted therapy drugs, avoiding ineffective treatments and side effects, and identifying resistance mutations as cancer evolves
 

Now, CGP is starting to help dogs - like Lucy. 

But not all genomic tests available for pets are the same. Join the webinar and find out about benefits as well as limitations of CGP.

 

Two years ago, we got a happy email message from Dennis's mom.  Dennis had been diagnosed with osteosarcoma three years earlier but managed to get limb-sparing surgery as well as the EGFR/HER2 vaccine and was doing great.  This month, we received another update email.  Dennis is still healthy and he's now been 5 years cancer-free. Sharing Dennis's story here!

Dennis, a 5-year osteosarcoma survivor! (Thanks to the EGFR/HER2 vaccine)

 

“Mom, there’s already so much online about dog cancer.”

My daughter meant well. But what’s online isn’t always what’s new - and in cancer care, that matters.

Today, researchers and clinicians are making discoveries that could change how long—and how well—dogs live after diagnosis.

For instance, a recent study found that dogs with B-cell lymphoma who received half-body radiation after achieving remission had a median survival of nearly 2,000 days. That’s more than 5 years—a game-changer compared to typical remission time of less than 12 months.

I believe it’s vital to help more families learn about these breakthroughs.

If you missed our last webinar with Dr. Kevin Choy, a leading veterinary oncologist, you can still catch the full recording here.  He shares the latest in diagnostics and treatment strategies for canine lymphoma—information that could make a big difference.

Thank you for being part of this community!!

 

The studies Canine Cancer Alliance supports are only possible because of your involvement and support. We'd be so honored if you might consider becoming a monthly donor so that we can continue to advance research to help build a better future for dogs with cancer.

With heartfelt gratitude,

 

Mari

 

Mari Maeda PhD

Founder

Canine Cancer Alliance

P.S.
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