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Published on: September 6, 2024
Modeling opportunities in comparative oncology for drug development
1NCI Center for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Abstract:
Successful development of novel cancer drugs depends on well-reasoned scientific drug discovery, rigorous preclinical development, and carefully conceived clinical trials. Failure in any of these steps contributes to poor rates of approval for new drugs to treat cancer. As technological and scientific advances have opened the door to a variety of novel approaches to cancer drug discovery and development, preclinical models that can answer questions about the activity and safety of novel therapies are increasingly necessary. The advance of a drug to clinical trials based on information from preclinical models presupposes that the models convey informative data for future use in human patients with cancer. The study of novel cancer drugs using in vitro models is highly controllable, reproducible, relatively inexpensive, and linked to high throughput. However, these models fail to reproduce many of the complex features of human cancer. Mouse models address some of these limitations but have important biological differences from human cancer. The integration of studies using pet dogs with spontaneously occurring tumors as models in the development path can answer questions not adequately addressed in conventional models and is therefore gaining attention and interest in drug development communities. The study of novel cancer drugs in dogs with naturally occurring tumors allows drug assessment in a cancer that shares many fundamental features with the human cancer condition, and thus provides an opportunity to answer questions that inform the cancer drug development path in ways not possible in more conventional models.
Insights
Canine cancer models offer valuable insights for novel cancer drug development. Studying cancer drugs in pet dogs with naturally occurring tumors provides unique data not obtainable from traditional preclinical models.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Comparative Medicine
- Drug Development
Background:
- Developing novel cancer drugs requires robust preclinical models to predict clinical efficacy and safety.
- Current preclinical models, including in vitro and mouse models, have limitations in replicating human cancer complexity.
- There is a growing need for advanced preclinical models in cancer drug discovery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the utility of pet dogs with naturally occurring tumors as a preclinical model for cancer drug development.
- To explore how canine cancer models can address limitations of traditional in vitro and mouse models.
- To determine if canine models provide unique insights for advancing novel cancer therapies.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing pet dogs with spontaneous tumors as a model system for preclinical cancer drug assessment.
- Comparing the biological relevance and data obtained from canine models to conventional in vitro and mouse models.
- Integrating canine cancer studies into the drug development pipeline.
Main Results:
- Canine cancer models share fundamental biological features with human cancers, offering a more relevant system.
- Studies in dogs can answer critical questions about drug activity and safety not addressed by other models.
- This approach provides valuable data to inform the progression of cancer drugs to clinical trials.
Conclusions:
- Pet dogs with naturally occurring tumors represent a promising preclinical model for cancer drug development.
- Integrating canine models can enhance the predictive value of preclinical data for human cancer patients.
- Canine cancer studies offer a unique opportunity to improve the success rate of novel cancer drug approvals.
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