Breaking the pain barrier: Advanced liquid biopsy system offers painless cancer testing for pets

J-STORIES - Cancer is the leading cause of death in dogs and cats, but many cancer tests use thick needles or involve surgery, making them painful and stressful for pets. A diagnosis system developed by a Japanese startup, however, needs only a single drop of blood to detect early-stage cancer.

According to its developers, Medical Ark, the Liquid Biopsy system is the most advanced test for pets commercially available. It was made possible thanks to Takahiro Ochiya, a professor of of molecular and cellular medicine at Tokyo Medical University, who had previously achieved a similar system for humans by analyzing nucleic acids and microRNAs in exosomes, microparticles released by cells.

Currently, the system can test for five types of cancerous growth in dogs: liver, urinary tract, and mast cell cancers, as well as oral melanoma and lymphoma. By September this year, another eight will be added, including breast cancer. The company has also signed joint research agreements with oncology departments of four universities to work on tests for cats. Going forward, it hopes to use the technology to test for metabolic and cardiovascular diseases as well as cancer.

Unlike previous tests, the system does not require large needles, operations, or general anesthesia, greatly reducing the stress experienced by companion animals. Between January and May this year, the number of hospitals registered to offer the test more than doubled from 200 to 452. 

A test currently used in the United States and other countries also focuses on exosomes and analyzes ctDNA extracted from nucleic acids. According to Medical Ark CEO Hiroshi Itoh, however, because ctDNA is not secreted until the cancer cells have grown to a certain size, by the time it is extracted it is not unusual for the cancer to have already progressed considerably.

On the other hand, microRNAs are secreted when cancer cells are still small, making them easy to detect early on.

Medical Ark’s Itoh told J-Stories, “Cancer in dogs progresses five to seven times faster than in humans and even after being picked up often takes the dog’s life within about three months."

Bearing in mind the speed of progression,  he recommends that for effective early cancer detection dogs be examined twice a year starting at the age of seven, which corresponds to 30 to 40 years of age for humans, and four times a year after the age of 10.

The tests, however, are only a supplementary diagnosis not a definitive one. “We want to link this technology effectively to checkups and create a system that leads to early detection and appropriate treatment,” said Itoh.

He added that if Medical Ark can save even just one companion animal and its family from the pain and suffering of cancer, its work will have been worthwhile.

Translation by Tony McNicol

Top page photo by Medical Ark

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