Age at cancer diagnosis by breed, weight, sex, and cancer type in a cohort of over 3,000 dogs: determining the optimal age to initiate cancer screening in canine patients

Abstract

The goal of cancer screening is to detect disease at an early stage when treatment may be more effective. Until recently, cancer screening in dogs has relied upon annual physical examinations and routine laboratory tests, which are largely inadequate for detecting preclinical disease. With the introduction of non-invasive liquid biopsy cancer detection methods, the discussion is shifting from How to screen dogs for cancer to When to screen dogs for cancer. To address this question, data from 3,452 cancer-diagnosed subjects were analyzed to determine the age at which dogs of certain breeds and weights are typically diagnosed with cancer. In the study population, the median age at cancer diagnosis was 8.8 years, with males diagnosed at younger ages than females, and spayed/neutered dogs diagnosed at significantly later ages than intact dogs. Overall, weight was inversely correlated with age at cancer diagnosis, and purebred dogs were diagnosed at significantly younger ages than mixed-breed dogs. For breeds with 10 or more subjects, a breed-based median age at diagnosis was calculated. A weight-based linear regression model was developed to predict the median age at diagnosis for breeds represented by fewer than 10 subjects and for mixed-breed dogs. The study findings support a general recommendation to start cancer screening for all dogs at the age of 7, and as early as 4 years of age for breeds with a lower median age at cancer diagnosis, in order to increase the chances of early detection and treatment.

Cancer detection in clinical practice and using blood‐based liquid biopsy: A retrospective audit of over 350 dogs

“…Cancer screening using NGS-based liquid biopsy may offer an of cancer, liquid biopsy was able to detect disease in nearly 50% of patients. Therefore, the addition of liquid biopsy to a dog's annual or semi-annual wellness visit (starting at age 7 for all dogs, or earlier for certain breeds 13 ) may enhance both preclinical and early-stage cancer detection in dogs and may expand the breadth of cancer types that may be detectable during routine care or at a wellness visit.…”

Evaluation of cat tumors in Samsun between 2004-2022

“…Moreover, lymphomas were more frequently seen in male cats than female cats in another study (Dorn et al, 1968) but further research found that lymphomas had no significant correlation with sex (Shida et al, 2010). In addition, one study found that the median age of tumor incidence for cats was 9.5 years old (Pérez-Enriquez et al, 2020), while another reported a median of 9.14 years old (Rafalko et al, 2022;Pinello et al, 2022b). Further research found that tumors were most often detected between 6 and 14 years of age in cats (Pamukçu, 1954;MacEwen, 1990;Gülçubuk et al, 2005;Aydın et al, 2008).…”

“…Tumors are frequently observed in 6-to 14-year-old cats, with a median age of 9.1-9.5 years old (Pamukçu, 1954;MacEwen, 1990;Gülçubuk et al, 2005;Aydın et al, 2008;Rafalko et al, 2022;Pinello et al, 2022b); malignant neoplasms form a greater proportion of tumors than benign neoplasms in cats, according to Pinello et al (2022a). Moreover, Gülçubuk et al (2005) found malignant and benign tumors in 12 (36.36%) male cats between 6 and 10 years old and 24 (88.88%) female cats.…”