Pet Cancer Registry Grows Nationally

The not-for-profit Texas Veterinary Cancer Registry is creating an additional service, the National Veterinary Cancer Registry, said group founder Theresa W. Fossum, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVS. Just like the Texas program, the new database is designed to identify and register pets diagnosed with cancer in order to facilitate treatments that lead to medical advances, higher success rates and cures for cancer in pets and people.

"Since the development of the Texas Veterinary Cancer Registry, we have received overwhelming support from pet owners, researchers, oncologists and stakeholders for our work,” Dr. Fossum said Thursday. "As a result, we have accepted the call to expand our efforts nationally.”

The network starts with veterinarian oncologists working on drug therapies for dogs and humans. The registry compiles information about pets diagnosed with cancer and matches potential candidates with clinical trials.

"There are already successful cases throughout Texas from the registry where, even without a cure for cancer, we have been able to drastically improve the quality of life for pets diagnosed with cancer while also advancing medical treatments," said Fossum, a professor at Texas A&M University. "As we broaden our reach, more pets can be treated and the science behind those treatments can advance.”

One clinical trial posted on the national registry’s website involves the evaluation of an anticancer agent in tumor-bearing dogs. The study is being conducted at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine.

Enrollment information is available at NationalVeterinaryCancerRegistry.org.

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