Research to Understand Canine Cancer Begins With a Tiny Blood Platelet

 

This is very exciting research that is being conducted to better understand cancer in dogs, and it may advance knowledge of human cancer too!

Researchers at Mississippi State’s College of Veterinary Medicine began an investigation with a tiny blood platelet, but they soon discovered opportunities for expanding the range of the research. Platelets carry information about tumors and metastasizing cancer cells, and the team hopes that by looking at specific proteins expressed in platelets, (from a simple blood sample), they can identify new cancer earlier. Even more importantly, they want to identify when tumors are about to metastasize.

Dr. Camillo Bulla is an associate professor in the college’s pathobiology and population medicine department. He and Dr. Kari Lunsford, have formed the Comparative Angiogenesis Laboratory at the university to better understand this process and treat canine patients.

“We have a lot to gain by looking at platelets and how they influence cancer and healing,” said Dr. Camillo Bulla. “A part of our research is looking at the platelet. The platelet is very small, but it gives us a large picture. We hope to be able to find a tumor much sooner by taking a series of blood samples to look at platelet contents.”

As he explained, cancers need the creation of new blood vessels, called angiogenesis, to survive and grow, and tumors are able to create new blood vessels as pathways to travel and spread. They also are looking at the way platelets interact with tumor cells as they attempt to spread to the area surrounding the tumor or metastasize to distant sites in the body.

To continue reading and learn more about this exciting research, please visit Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine. ~Zo