TRANSITIONAL CELL CARCINOMA

Kay McGuire, DVM, MS

Winter 2007, NEWS

As the year progresses, so do the studies that we as a Foundation take an active interest in. Dr’s Elaine Ostrander and Deborah Knapp are working on the study of Transitional Cell Carcinoma in Scottish Terriers and West Highland White Terriers. This is the study of the incidence and treatment of bladder cancer which actually occurs with a fairly high incidence in our breed. The disease once diagnosed, has only a partially effective treatment which includes surgical resection and death is inevitable.

Dr. Ostrander is trying to collect cases and unaffected controls in the family unit from which blood samples are collected. They are searching for DNA variants that are present in the affected and absent in the unaffected dogs. The samples of both the Scotties and Westies will be studied independently and then together to determine if some terrier breeds have inherited the disease causing mutation from dogs of common ancestor. Eventually DNA samples of affected dogs of other breeds will be collected for comparisons. The expected outcome is identification of the genetic variants responsible for Transitional Cell Carcinoma in at least two terrier breeds and the development of a test to determine which dogs are at risk for Transitional Cell Carcinoma.

The WHWTCA web site has information on sample collection for this study if you know of any affected Westies. Please help us help our dogs.