In Trials for New Cancer Drugs, Family Pets Are Benefiting, Too

    pet owners are enrolling their dogs in medical trials meant to benefit humans and animals alike. And some animal advocates are applauding the development.

    Most of the trials, often sponsored by drug companies or medical device makers, involve pets with cancer — a leading natural cause of death in older dogs — in which the animals receive groundbreaking drugs or other treatments that are eventually meant for people.

    The drug giant Pfizer has already introduced a human cancer drug that was given an early test in pet dogs, and a California company, IDM Pharma, recently filed for federal approval of another cancer drug that received similar testing.

    Treating dogs gives researchers an idea of whether and how the treatment will work in people, while at the same time possibly helping the pets.

    “It can help in reshaping the image of animals in science, from being considered tools to being considered patients,” said Martin Stephens, the vice president for animal research issues at the Humane Society of the United States. “And we would love to see that change.”

    The National Cancer Institute has set up a consortium of more than a dozen veterinary teaching hospitals to conduct the tests. The consortium has just completed its first study, with another to begin in a few weeks and several more planned for next year.

    Government and academic scientists are also now setting up a nonprofit group to study DNA and tumor samples from pet dogs, in an effort to pinpoint genes associated with cancer in both dogs and people.

    The government push is adding momentum to an approach in progress for several years among universities and medical centers that have been testing companies’ drugs and devices. Meanwhile, dogs whose owners enroll them in these trials often benefit from the best cancer treatments available.