Comparative Oncology of Skin Cancer

Abstract

Cancer is the leading cause of death in people from 45 to 65 years of age and the leading cause of death for geriatric pets [ 1,2 ] . The annual incidence of skin cancer in dogs and cats is estimated to be 90.4 and 34.7 per 100,000 pets at risk [ 3 ] . This annual incidence is high compared to humans with an annual incidence of only 5.2 per 100,000 people at risk [ 1,[4][5][6] . Studying this animal population with skin cancer provides an opportunity to improve our knowledge about the biology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, and treatment of skin cancer across species, contributing to advances in human and animal health through a comparative oncology approach. The Study of Skin Cancer and Advantages of the Comparative Oncology ApproachThe complex biology and therapeutic challenges associated with skin cancer necessitates continued research. Considerable knowledge about skin cancer comes from clinical experience and clinical studies of human patients. As with all cancer research, in vitro and in vivo studies also contribute to our knowledge and guide decisions that will hopefully lead to new options and breakthroughs in the treatment of skin cancer. Progress can be slow, and approaches that seem promising based on in vitro and in vivo studies frequently do not end up translating into signi fi cant improvements when attempted in the clinic. These approaches are still a valuable and necessary component of skin cancer research. Newer mouse models of cancer and advanced in vitro research techniques will continue to improve our understanding of skin cancer. Developments in the fi elds of surgical oncology, radiation oncology, and drug development toward treatments that more effectively target skin cancer while sparing normal tissues improve our ability to effectively manage patients with this disease. Comparative Oncology of Skin Cancer Ira Gordon Key PointsNaturally occurring skin cancers of • companion animals can serve as useful models of our understanding of these diseases in people.The most common skin tumors in dogs • include mast cell tumor, lipoma, sebaceous gland tumor, histiocytoma, squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma, fi brosarcoma, and basal cell tumor. The most common skin tumors in cats • include basal cell tumor, mast cell tumor, fi brosarcoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and sebaceous gland tumor.