Cancer genomic heterogeneity presents significant challenges for understanding oncogenic processes and for cancer’s clinical management. Variation in driver mutation frequency between patients with the same tumor type as well as within an individual patients’ cancer can shape the use of mutations as diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers. We have characterized genomic heterogeneity between and within canine splenic hemangiosarcoma (HSA), a common naturally occurring cancer in pet dogs that is similar to human angiosarcoma (AS). HSA is a clinically, physiologically, and genomically complex canine cancer that may serve as a valuable model for understanding the origin and clinical impact of cancer heterogeneity. We conducted a prospective collection of 52 splenic masses from 43 dogs (27 HSA, 15 benign masses, and 1 stromal sarcoma) presenting for emergency care with hemoperitoneum secondary to a ruptured splenic mass. Multi-platform genomic analysis included matched tumor/normal targeted sequencing panel and exome sequencing. We found candidate somatic cancer driver mutations in 14/27 (52%) HSAs. Among recurrent candidate driver mutations, TP53 was most commonly mutated (30%) followed by PIK3CA (15%), AKT1 (11%), and CDKN2AIP (11%). We also identified significant intratumoral genomic heterogeneity, consistent with a branched evolution model, through multi-region exome sequencing of three distinct tumor regions from selected primary splenic tumors. These data provide new perspectives on the genomic landscape of this veterinary cancer and suggest a cross-species value for using HSA in pet dogs as a naturally occurring model of intratumoral heterogeneity.

Background: Necrotizing meningoencephalitis (NME, aka Pug dog encephalitis) is an inflammatory brain condition associated with advanced disease at initial presentation, rapid progression, and poor response to conventional immunomodulatory therapy.Hypothesis/Objectives: That genetic risk for NME, defined by a common germline DNA haplotype located on chromosome 12, is associated with altered blood cytokine concentrations and leukocyte subsets in asymptomatic Pugs.Animals: Forty Pug dogs asymptomatic for NME from a hospital sample.Methods: Prospective observational cohort study, including germline genome-wide genotyping, plasma cytokine determination by multiplexed profiling, and leukocyte subset characterization by flow cytometric analysis.Results: Seven (18%) dogs were high risk, 10 (25%) medium risk, and 23 (58%) low risk for NME, giving a risk haplotype frequency of 30%. High and medium risk Pugs had significantly lower proportion of CD4+ T cells (median 22% [range, 7.3%-38%] vs 29% [range, 16%-41%], P = .03) and higher plasma IL-10 concentrations than lowrisk Pugs (median 14.11 pg/mL [range, 9.66-344.19 pg/mL] vs 12.21 pg/mL [range, 2.59-18.53 pg/mL], P = .001). No other variables were significantly associated with the NME haplotype-based risk.Conclusions and Clinical Importance: These data suggest an immunological underpinning to NME and a biologic rationale for future clinical trials that investigate novel diagnostic, preventative, and therapeutic strategies for this disease.

Objective:To provide a review on the current use of antimicrobials with a discussion on the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles of antimicrobials in critically ill patients, the challenges of drug resistance, the use of diagnostic testing to direct therapy, and the selection of the most likely efficacious antimicrobial protocol. Etiology: Patients in the intensive care unit often possess profound pathophysiologic changes that can complicate antimicrobial therapy. Although many antimicrobials have known pharmacodynamic profiles, critical illness can cause wide variations in their pharmacokinetics. The two principal factors affecting pharmacokinetics are volume of distribution and drug clearance. Understanding the interplay between critical illness, drug pharmacokinetics, and antimicrobial characteristics (ie, time-dependent vs concentration-dependent) may improve antimicrobial efficacy and patient outcome. Diagnosis: Utilizing bacterial culture and susceptibility can aid in identifying drug resistant infections, selecting the most appropriate antimicrobials, and hindering the future development of drug resistance. Therapy: Having a basic knowledge of antimicrobial function and how to use diagnostics to direct therapeutic treatment is paramount in managing this patient population. Diagnostic testing is not always available at the time of initiation of antimicrobial therapy, so empiric selections are often necessary. These empiric choices should be made based on the location of the infection and the most likely infecting bacteria.Prognosis: Studies have demonstrated the importance of moving away from a "one dose fits all" approach to antimicrobial therapy. Instead there has been a move toward an individualized approach that takes into consideration the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic variabilities that can occur in critically ill patients.

Haemoperitoneum secondary to ruptured splenic tumours can be either benign or malignant in origin. The majority of previous studies of canine haemoperitoneum have been retrospective, which are associated with well-recognized biases, such as the potential to underappreciate the diversity of outcomes in a complex presentation such as haemoperitoneum. This study seeks to prospectively define perioperative morbidity and mortality of haemoperitoneum in dogs secondary to ruptured splenic masses. Forty dogs with haemoperitoneum secondary to a ruptured splenic mass met the inclusion criteria. As expected, the cohort predominately consisted of older large breed dogs. All dogs underwent preoperative staging and had a splenectomy performed. Histopathologic analysis was performed on the splenic mass, as well as any possible metastatic lesions that were noted intra-operatively. Perioperative care outside of splenectomy was delivered in specialty practices using current conventional approaches to care (eg, transfusions and anti-arrhythmic medications). Fifteen dogs (37.5%) had benign splenic tumours and were cured with surgery alone, whereas 62.5% had malignant disease (most often haemangiosarcoma [HSA]). Surgical outcomes were highly favourable in the vast majority of dogs. Indeed, 38 dogs (95%) survived and were discharged after a median hospitalization of 39.5 hours. Independent predictors of longer hospitalization times included receiving a transfusion and the development of an arrhythmia. Although small, this cohort defines distinctive and optimistic perspectives for dogs with haemoperitoneum from splenic tumour rupture. These favourable outcomes from this prospective study are sufficient to ask if larger prospective studies should be conducted to better inform owners during this challenging cancer emergency presentation.

Background: Intervertebral disc-associated epidural hemorrhage (EH) in dogs is a poorly understood neurological condition.Objective: To compare the clinical presentation, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) changes, and clinical outcome of dogs with acute thoracolumbar intervertebral disc herniation (TL-IVDH) with and without EH. Animals: One hundred sixty client-owned dogs that underwent MRI and hemilaminectomy for acute TL-IVDH at a private practice in Colorado, including 63 dogs with EH and 97 dogs without EH. Methods: Retrospective review of medical record data from 160 dogs presenting sequentially to a single practice with acute TL-IVDH that underwent MRI and hemilaminectomy surgery. Results: Sixty-three of 160 (39%) dogs had confirmed EH. French Bulldogs were significantly overrepresented (23/63; odds ratio [OR]: 4.1; 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.8-9.0; P < .001) of the EH cases. Dogs with EH were more likely to present with clinical signs less than 48 hours than were dogs without EH (24-48 vs 48-72 hours; OR: 2.4; 95% CI: 1.2-4.6; P = .02) and were more likely to be nonambulatory on presentation (OR: 2.1; 95% CI: 1.0-4.1; P = .04). Dogs with EH were more likely to have <50% cross-sectional spinal cord compression than dogs without EH (OR: 2.3 vs. 0.4; 95% CI: 1.2-4.4 and 0.2-0.9, respectively), longer longitudinal spinal cord compression (3 spaces vs 1 space, P < .001), and greater intrinsic spinal cord change (grade 3/severe vs grade 1/mild; P < .001) based on MRI. The location of the intervertebral disc herniation in French Bulldogs with EH was more likely to be thoracolumbar

Sorafenib is a multi-kinase small molecule inhibitor that targets serine/threonine and tyrosine kinases including the RAF kinase family, VEGFR-2, and PDGFR. The aim of this study was to evaluate the systemic pharmacokinetics of a previously defined tolerable oral dose of sorafenib in tumor-bearing dogs. Six client-owned dogs with a cytologic or histologic diagnosis of cancer were enrolled in this open-label, tolerability study. Dogs were administered sorafenib at an intended dose of 3 mg/kg and serum samples were obtained for analysis of sorafenib serum concentrations at 0, 1, 2, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 168 h post-drug administration. Median time to peak serum sorafenib concentration occurred at 4 h (range 2–12 h) resulting in an average serum concentration of 54.9 ± 33.5 ng/mL (118.2 ± 72.1 nM). Mean sorafenib levels declined by over 70% relative to peak serum concentrations by 24 h in all dogs, suggesting the value of at least twice daily administration. Doses of 3 mg/kg were well-tolerated and no patients in the study experienced adverse events that were attributable to sorafenib. Future trials in dogs with cancer are recommended at this dosing schedule to assess the effect of sorafenib administration on anti-tumor efficacy signals and relevant pharmacodynamic target modulation in vivo.

Diffusion of organic solvents in plasticized poly-(vinyl chloride) (PVC) films is industrially significant for inkjetprinted PVC graphic displays, but comprehensive research on the mechanism of solvent diffusion in such systems is lacking. This study employs two easy-to-implement experimental techniques for diffusion measurement and reports on both the steady-state and non-steady-state diffusivities of 20 industrially relevant organic solvents, spanning five chemical moieties, in a commercial PVC base film. To better understand the trends in diffusivity values with solvent properties, the diffusivity was compared to multiple kinetic mobility and thermodynamic diffusion models. Kinetic mobility parameters representing molecular size and shape were found to be good predictors of diffusivity in this study. In contrast, the thermodynamic Hansen solubility parameters from the solvent and PVC were shown to be a less robust predictor of the diffusivities. Molecular weight, van der Waals volume, and vapor pressure were identified as the best performing predictors that also have distinct merits for guiding industrial practices and furthering theoretical understandings. Ultimately, the results from this study are useful in predicting the performance of solvents for industrial inkjet printing and in understanding the underlying microscopic transport mechanisms.

Cancer genomic heterogeneity presents significant challenges for understanding oncogenic processes and for cancer’s clinical management. Variation in driver mutation frequency between patients with the same tumor type as well as within individual patients’ cancers can limit the power of mutations to serve as diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers. We have characterized genomic heterogeneity between and within patients in canine splenic hemangiosarcoma (HSA), a common naturally occurring cancer in pet dogs that is similar to human angiosarcoma (AS). HSA is a clinically, physiologically, and genomically complex canine cancer that may serve as a valuable model for understanding the origin and clinical impact of cancer heterogeneity. We conducted a prospective collection of 52 splenic masses from 44 dogs (28 HSA, 15 benign masses, and 1 stromal sarcoma) presenting to emergency care with hemoperitoneum secondary to a ruptured splenic mass. Multi-platform genomic analysis included matched tumor/normal cancer gene panel and exome sequencing. We found candidate somatic cancer driver mutations in 14/28 (50%) HSAs. Among recurrent candidate driver mutations, TP53 was most commonly mutated (29%) followed by PIK3CA (14%), AKT1 (11%), and CDKN2AIP (11%). We also identified significant intratumoral genomic heterogeneity, consistent with a branched evolution model, through multi-region exome sequencing of three distinct tumor regions from selected primary splenic tumors. These data provide new perspective on the genomic landscape and comparative value of understanding HSA in pet dogs, particularly as a naturally occurring cancer bearing intratumoral heterogeneity.