Companion Animals as a Key to Success for Translating Radiation Therapy Research into the Clinic

Abstract

Many successful preclinical findings fail to be replicated during translation to human studies. This leads to significant resources being spent on large clinical trials, and in some cases, promising therapeutics not being pursued due to the high costs of clinical translation. These translational failures emphasize the need for improved preclinical models of human cancer so that there is a higher probability of successful clinical translation. Companion-animal cancers offer a potential solution. These cancers are more similar to human cancer than other preclinical models, with a natural evolution over time, genetic alterations, intact immune system, and a permanent adaptation to the microenvironment. These advantages have led pioneers in veterinary radiation oncology to aid human medicine by elucidating basic principles of radiation biology. More recently, the veterinary and human radiation oncology fields have increasingly collaborated to achieve advancements in education, radiotherapy techniques, and trial networks. This review describes these advancements, including significant prior research findings and the evolution of the veterinary radiation oncology discipline. It concludes by describing how companion-animal models can help shape the future of human radiotherapy. Taken as a whole, this review suggests companion-animal cancers may become widely used for preclinical radiotherapy research.

The Impact of Nanomedicine on Soft Tissue Sarcoma Treated by Radiotherapy and/or Hyperthermia: A Review

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The Integration of Community-Dwelling Non-Human Companion Animals in Research Programs

“…Comparative oncology reviews (Anderson & Modiano, 2015;Beck et al, 2022;Bentley et al, 2017;Burton & Khanna, 2014;Dias et al, 2021;Finocchiaro & Glikin, 2017;Garden et al, 2018;Gardner et al, 2016;Gingrich et al, 2019;Giuliano, 2021;Gordon & Khanna, 2010;Kieslinger et al, 2019;Kleber et al, 2022;LeBlanc & Mazcko, 2020;Lollini et al, 2013;Mestrinho & Santos, 2021;Nickoloff et al, 2017;Oh & Cho, 2023;Page et al, 2016;Pinard et al, 2022;Porrello et al, 2004Porrello et al, , 2006Rahman et al, 2023;Regan et al, 2018;Riccardo et al, 2015;Vafaei et al, 2022;Vail & Thamm, 2000.;Vanhaezebrouck & Scarpelli, 2023;Withers et al, 2019;Withrow & Wilkins, 2010) Cell therapy review (Arzi et al, 2021) Thesis (Gruen, 2016) Ethical review (Bertout et al, 2021) One Health reviews (Arzi et al, 2022;Kol et al, 2015) Perianal fistulas review (Burdzinska et al, 2022) Osteoarthritis (Cimino Brown, 2017) Pain reviews (Iadarola et al, 2021;Lascelles et al, 2018Lascelles et al, , 2022 Cachex...…”