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Comparative Oncology

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Cancer

  • 85 Accesses

Definition

Comparative oncology is the discipline that includes spontaneous, naturally occurring cancers seen in companion (pet) animals into studies of cancer biology and therapy.

Characteristics

An underutilized group of animal models in the study of cancer biology and therapy includes companion animals, primarily dogs, which naturally develop cancer. In the United States, there are ~60–70 million pet dogs. Based on crude incidence rates, it is estimated that over one million new cases of cancer are diagnosed in pet dogs each year. Due to increasing emphasis on the human-animal bond, the pet owning public is motivated to seek out new and effective treatment options for their pet animals with cancer. This population provides a platform to study cancer biology and therapy in a natural system that can serve as an intermediary step between mouse modelsand human patients. Naturally occurring cancers in pet dogs and humans share many features, including histological appearance, tumor...

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References

  • Hansen K, Khanna C (2004) Spontaneous and genetically engineered animal models; use in preclinical cancer drug development. Eur J Cancer 40:858–880

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research, Comparative Oncology Program, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Melissa C. Paoloni & Chand Khanna

Authors
  1. Melissa C. Paoloni
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  2. Chand Khanna
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Melissa C. Paoloni .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Abt. Tumorgenetik, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany

    Manfred Schwab

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Paoloni, M.C., Khanna, C. (2014). Comparative Oncology. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_1283-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_1283-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27841-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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