Urinary bladder cancer in dogs, a naturally occurring model for cancer biology and drug development

Each year more than 65,000 people are diagnosed with urinary bladder cancer, and more than 14,000 people die from the disease in the United States. Studies in relevant animal models are essential to improve the management of bladder cancer. Naturally occurring bladder cancer in dogs very closely mimics human invasive bladder cancer, specifically high-grade invasive transitional cell carcinoma (TCC; also referred to as invasive urothelial carcinoma) in cellular and molecular features; biological behavior, including sites and frequency of metastasis; and response to therapy. Canine bladder cancer complements experimentally induced rodent tumors in regard to animal models of bladder cancer. Results of cellular and molecular studies and -omics analyses in dogs are expected to lead to improved detection of TCC and preneoplastic lesions, earlier intervention, better prediction of patient outcome, and more effective TCC management overall. Studies in dogs are being used to help define heritable risks (through very strong breed-associated risk) and environment risks and to evaluate prevention and treatment approaches that benefit humans as well as dogs. Clinical treatment trials in pet dogs with TCC are considered a win-win scenario by clinician scientists and pet owners. The individual dog benefits from effective treatment, the results are expected to help other dogs, and the findings are expected to ultimately help humans with TCC. This article provides an overview of canine TCC, a summary of the similarities and differences between canine and human invasive TCC, and examples of the types of valuable translational research that can be done using dogs with naturally occurring TCC.