A genetic analysis of 493 tumors from domestic cats collected across five countries found that feline cancers share many of the same cancer-driving genes seen in people and dogs, including frequent FBXW7 mutations in feline mammary tumors that are linked to poorer outcomes in some human breast cancers. The results were published in Science.
An international research team genetically analyzed tumors from 493 domestic cats, using tissue samples that veterinarians had already collected for diagnostic purposes. According to a University of Guelph research release carried by ScienceDaily, the samples came from cats in five countries, and the work represents a first large-scale effort to profile the genetics of cancer in domestic cats.
Among the findings, the team reported that the FBXW7 gene was the most frequently altered in feline mammary tumors, with mutations appearing in more than half of the mammary tumors studied. The release noted that FBXW7 mutations in human breast cancer have been associated with poorer outcomes, and said the pattern seen in cats broadly mirrors that human clinical picture.
The researchers also reported genetic similarities between feline cancers and human cancers in tumor types affecting the blood, bones, lungs, skin, gastrointestinal tract and central nervous system, adding to evidence that some of the same core pathways drive cancer across species. The authors said the results could help guide future comparative-oncology research and, eventually, inform treatment strategies for pets and people.
Separately, the release said laboratory tests on the collected tumor tissue suggested that some chemotherapy drugs appeared to work better in mammary tumor samples carrying mutated FBXW7—an observation the researchers described as preliminary and limited to tissue samples, not clinical outcomes in cats or humans.
