Comparative oncology / research surface
The dog is a natural model of human cancer.
Dogs get the same cancers we do, driven by the same genes, and unlike a lab mouse they get them naturally, sharing our homes and environment. That makes canine cancer one of the strongest natural models in comparative medicine. Each map below pairs a canine cancer with its human counterpart and shows the somatically-altered driver genes they share, from peer-reviewed cohorts, cited.
Lymphoma
Canine B-cell lymphoma, especially diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, is one of the most-studied natural models of human DLBCL. The canine driver landscape is unusually well characterized across five cohorts, and it shares its core with the human disease.
the shared driver landscape →Melanoma
Canine melanoma is predominantly oral and mucosal, not sun-driven, which makes it a natural model of human MUCOSAL melanoma, not the common cutaneous form. Both are non-BRAF, low-mutation, and copy-number-driven, and a single cross-species study sequenced both.
the shared driver landscape →Osteosarcoma
Osteosarcoma is one of the clearest cases of comparative oncology: naturally-occurring canine OS is a conserved genetic model of human, especially pediatric, osteosarcoma. Both are driven by the same core tumor-suppressor losses. Below is the shared somatically-altered driver landscape, drawn from peer-reviewed cohorts and cited to each.
the shared driver landscape →This map grows. Each cancer is a single cited data file, added whenever it is worth sharpening the picture, so the map deepens over time without a rebuild.
The molecular side pairs with the population side: for how often these cancers strike goldens over a lifetime, see the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study →