29 Feb 2024
A team from The University of Edinburgh has developed a liquid biopsy blood test for monitoring the progression of the disease in dogs.
James Westgate
Job Title
The K9-LiquiDX team (from left): resident in small animal oncology Suzanne Busser, CanCan Diagnostics founder Maciej Parys and head of radiation oncology Magdalena Parys.
A team of scientists at The University of Edinburgh has developed what is claimed to be the UK’s first liquid biopsy blood test for monitoring the progression of cancer in dogs.
Researchers say the DNA-based liquid biopsy could help manage a disease that affects a quarter of all dogs, and as many as a half in some breeds.
The technology, developed by new spinout CanCan Diagnostics, allows for patient monitoring at greater sensitivity than the currently used imaging method.
CanCan Diagnostics’ test involves capturing a blood sample inside a small tubular device. The tube stabilises DNA in the sample, which can then be sequenced and analysed using a proprietary bioinformatic pipeline, with results available in 7 to 10 days.
The technology is aimed at supporting treatment of cancer in dogs as a monitoring tool, or to support difficult diagnoses.
The liquid biopsy K9-LiquiDX test detects DNA circulating in the blood. A small fraction of this DNA in patients with cancer comes from tumour cells, which allows the test to monitor progression of tumours.
Maciej Parys, a vet at The University of Edinburgh Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and director of CanCan Diagnostics, said: “We believe our approach of using liquid biopsy to detect and monitor cancers in dogs to be the first application of this type of technology to veterinary diagnostics in the UK and Europe.
“It will help improve the disease monitoring for affected pets and their owners, while also providing vets with a novel, minimally invasive and quick to perform diagnostic test.”
Dr Parys added that further development of the test could lead to more sophisticated diagnosis and personalised treatments, including specific products for particular breeds.
CanCan Diagnostics has been refining the technology for several years, since the idea was first developed by Dr Parys as part of a project funded by the Dogs Trust Canine Welfare Grant.
Supported by Edinburgh Innovations, the University of Edinburgh’s commercialisation service, his team received a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Campus Innovation Account Award and ICURe Innovate UK grant to commercialise the technology and spin out into a company.
David Argyle, head of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, said: “CanCan Diagnostics represents the translation of research into real-world solutions and it has great prospects for a major impact on canine oncology.”
