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Maddie Meador

Taylor Martin

ENG 102

29 January 2020

Explanatory Essay

The article “Good News for Dogs with Cancer” published in the December 2019 edition

of Scientific American website presents new therapies getting developed for pets and in hopes of

treating humans as well. This article caught my eye because I love dogs and interested in what

therapies could help dogs with cancer. I have an older dog and she is a chihuahua that has

congestive heart failure, so I would like to know more about cancer within dogs and learn more

about it to keep a look out on my dog for cancer. On the other hand, I don’t want to assume that

my dog is going to get cancer, so I am a little more interested with the information given.

In the article, it talks about how Tufts University was studying an experimental vaccine

for dogs with cancer. The dog, Truman, which was given the vaccine is now cancer free. I

believe this is very important because cancer is killing beloved pets and hurting others because

their pets are passing away from this evil killer. A vaccine is very important to have for dogs

with cancer.

In the article, it states that the NCI (National Institutes of Health) gave out 11.5 million

dollars in grants to six veterinary schools to study immunotherapy treatments for four different

cancers in dogs in 2017. I believe this is important because the more treatments that are made,

the more research in cancer can help dogs with cancer. It also states that new treatment

techniques and diagnostic tools have been created. I believe this is very important and neat
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because technology can help with targeted radiation, which avoids damaging tissue near a tumor

that can develop on pets.

In the article, it states that genetic research into canine cancer has lagged far behind the

human version but has gotten a boost as well. For the pets, the NCI has given money to sequence

DNA for at least five other canine cancers, including melanoma, B-cell lymphoma and bladder

cancer. I believe this statement is great because money given for these types of cancer will

benefit to help treat these types of cancer.

Stated in the article, Cheryl London, a veterinary oncologist at Tufts University and an

expert in comparative oncology, predicts that in the next few years or so, she will see an

explosion of genetic information, which will lead to more effective and less toxic treatments for

dogs with cancer. I believe this would be a great opportunity because treatments for cancer may

or could have toxins that could hurt dogs. For example, humans with cancer have to taker

chemotherapy, which can be very painful. Dogs deserve a painless treatment for cancer.

In the article, it talks about clinical trials has given owners with dangerously sick dogs

somewhere to turn with the osteosarcoma vaccine. This vaccine study is said that helped the dog

Truman. Also, the article states that the trials are supposed to provide experimental medicine that

may save a dog’s life, and at a price any dog can afford, which is for free. I believe that this will

help dogs because sick dogs that need these vaccines should be able to receive them, and their

owners should not have to pay so much money for the vaccine and other treatments when their

dog has cancer.

In the article, it talks about the boom in canine cancer research has inspired some

scientists to think very big. The largest veterinary clinical study in history began to test a vaccine

meant to stop any type of cancer before it becomes an actual tumor. This is very important and
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great because having a vaccine to stop any type of cancer would help any and every dog. Also,

for it stop a tumor before it starts to develop would be great too because tumors are a start of the

cancer in the dog’s body, and if the tumor is stopped before it starts developing, then the cancer

will not develop or spread.

In conclusion, this article has really interested me about dogs with cancer and cancer in

general. With all the information about dogs with cancer, it could actually help scientists bring

more cures for dogs with cancers. In the article, what really interested me most about dogs

having cancer is about the clinical trials that have given sick dogs a turn. It makes me happy to

see that these trials provide experimental medicine that may or could save a dog’s life, and any

dog owner doesn’t have to pay a dime for the medicine. I love dogs and I hope scientists can

actually find more cures for dogs with cancer that are free or at a low cost for dog owners so

dogs can live a longer and happier life.

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Works Cited

“Good News for Dogs with Cancer.” Scientific American, December 2019.