Comparative Oncology | 60 Minutes Archive

Lehan Edirisinghe and Elle Trump March 21, 2026

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Key takeaways

- Comparative oncology is turning naturally occurring cancer in pet dogs into a research pathway for human treatments. Approximately four million U.S. dogs are diagnosed with cancer annually, and their shared genetics, diseases and environmental exposures make them valuable clinical research patients rather than laboratory animals with artificially induced cancer.

“We are studying human disease and we're doing it through dogs.” — NIH geneticist Elaine Ostrander.

- Dog genetics offers researchers an unusually efficient way to identify disease-associated genes. Elaine Ostrander's NIH team has collected approximately 40,000 DNA samples over nearly 30 years; Scottish terriers have about 20 times the bladder-cancer risk of mixed-breed dogs, while the MSRB3 gene connects canine ear shape with human deafness.

- Osteosarcoma has seen approximately 60 years without meaningful advances in conventional chemotherapy. More than 10,000 American dogs and approximately 1,000 Americans, mostly children and young adults, develop it annually, while limited patient numbers and research funding have hindered human clinical trials.

“We've been using the same chemotherapy for about the last 60 years or so.” — Dr. Alyssa Rubin.

- An experimental Listeria immunotherapy progressed from canine trials to FDA-approved human research. Developed through trials beginning in 2012, the treatment uses weakened, genetically modified bacteria carrying HER2 to stimulate cancer-fighting immune cells; encouraging canine results showed increased survival and acceptable treatment tolerance.

“These are naturally occurring cancers.” — Dr. Nicola Mason.

- A golden retriever named Sandy survived approximately four years without detectable cancer after receiving the experimental treatment. Her initial expected survival with standard amputation and chemotherapy was around one year, making her outcome particularly encouraging, although an individual case cannot establish treatment effectiveness.

- The FDA approved a Phase II human trial targeting children and young adults with recurrent osteosarcoma that has spread to the lungs. Christie Gomes, diagnosed at 11 and subsequently experiencing a lung recurrence, received her third Listeria infusion; despite headaches and nausea after treatment, her latest scan showed no cancer and she continued immunotherapy every three weeks.

“And then when I wake up, it hits like a truck.” — Christie Gomes.

- The National Cancer Institute is investing more than $20 million in comparative oncology. The funding supports nationwide analysis of canine cancer samples and clinical trials, including research into brain cancer and treatments that could benefit human patients with glioblastoma.

- A University of Minnesota collaboration treated a dog and a human with virtually the same experimental brain-cancer treatment. Boxer Otto's cancer appeared to return, while Julie, a 59-year-old woman with glioblastoma, deteriorated and withdrew from the trial; the veterinary and human medical teams had shared surgical, safety and dosing information.

“I helped fight cancer.” — Julie.

All points

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- Approximately four million dogs in the United States are diagnosed with cancer every year. Dogs develop many of the same cancers as humans, including lymphoma, melanoma, brain cancer, breast cancer and osteosarcoma. Their shared genetics and exposure to similar environments make canine cancer valuable for human medical research.

- Comparative oncology uses naturally occurring cancer in dogs to accelerate medical research for both species. Scientists study pet dogs with cancer, identify promising treatments and investigate whether those treatments can also work in humans. The research is supported in part by the White House's Cancer Moonshot Initiative.

- The National Institutes of Health has collected approximately 40,000 canine DNA samples over nearly 30 years. Senior NIH geneticist Elaine Ostrander leads a research programme that regularly visits dog shows to collect DNA samples from different breeds. At a summer dog show in Norwalk, Connecticut, researchers were seen swabbing dogs and collecting genetic material.

- Dog breeding has created unusually useful genetic research populations. Although dogs had some natural physical variation historically, most of the striking differences between modern breeds developed during approximately the last 200 years. Selective breeding concentrated particular genetic traits, making it easier to identify genes associated with physical characteristics and diseases.

- Some major physical differences between dogs are controlled by individual genes. Ostrander explained that one gene can determine whether a dog has cream-coloured or black hair, while other genes influence long or short hair. These relatively simple genetic relationships can help scientists identify genes responsible for more complicated diseases.

- Research into dog ear shapes uncovered a connection to human deafness. A mutation in the MSRB3 gene influences whether dogs have upright or floppy ears. More substantial disruption of the same gene in humans can cause a form of deafness, demonstrating how research into apparently unrelated canine traits can reveal human disease mechanisms.

- Certain dog breeds have dramatically higher risks of particular cancers. Scottish terriers are approximately 20 times more likely to develop bladder cancer than the average mixed-breed dog. Studying a genetically concentrated population makes it easier to identify cancer-associated genes than studying humans, where genetic backgrounds, mutations and environmental exposures vary considerably.

- Osteosarcoma provides a particularly strong case for comparative cancer research. More than 10,000 dogs in the United States are estimated to develop this aggressive bone cancer annually, compared with approximately 1,000 people, mostly children and young adults. Cancerous tissue from dogs and humans looks so similar under a microscope that even a professional may be unable to distinguish the species.

- Veterinarian and University of Pennsylvania professor Nicola Mason oversees a national comparative oncology clinical-trial network. The network receives support from the White House's Cancer Moonshot Initiative and investigates treatments using naturally occurring cancers in pet dogs.

- Osteosarcoma treatment has changed remarkably little in approximately 60 years. Pediatric oncologist Dr. Alyssa Rubin explained that the same chemotherapy approaches have been used for decades. The disease is difficult to study because relatively few human patients are available for large clinical trials, and its rarity attracts less research funding.

- Recurring osteosarcoma is particularly dangerous. According to Rubin, approximately 80% of patients whose cancer returns are likely to develop additional tumours. Cancer that spreads to the lungs presents a particularly difficult treatment challenge.

- Christie Gomes was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in 2020, aged 11. Initially, she and her mother, Kathy Fedder, believed the pain in her left thigh was a sports injury caused by playing soccer. Months of physical therapy passed before doctors discovered a cancerous tumour that had destroyed much of her femur.

- Christie's initial treatment required extensive surgery and chemotherapy. Doctors removed the remaining damaged bone and replaced it with a nine-inch metal rod. Chemotherapy left her weighing just 72 pounds, but the cancer subsequently returned and spread to her lungs.

- Scientists began investigating modified Listeria bacteria as an experimental osteosarcoma treatment in pet dogs in 2012. Dr. Nicola Mason led the research. The approach was designed to stimulate the immune system to attack cancer cells rather than relying exclusively on conventional chemotherapy.

- The experimental treatment uses genetically modified Listeria containing a specific cancer-associated protein. The bacteria are made substantially less harmful than ordinary Listeria, which causes food poisoning, and engineered to carry HER2, a protein found on some osteosarcoma cells. Following injection into the bloodstream, the bacteria stimulate an immune response and activate killer immune cells intended to locate and destroy cancerous cells.

- A golden retriever named Sandy provided an encouraging early example of the treatment's potential. Sandy, aged nine, entered a nationwide trial in 2018 after osteosarcoma required the amputation of her front leg. Her owner, Matt Olson, was told that standard treatment involving amputation and chemotherapy generally offered an expected survival of approximately one year.

- Sandy's immune response provided evidence that the experimental treatment was activating the intended biological mechanism. Her body temperature increased, peaked approximately four hours after treatment and then declined. Mason considered this reaction encouraging because it indicated that the immunotherapy was stimulating Sandy's immune system.

- Sandy remained alive and without detectable cancer approximately four years after entering the trial. Her outcome substantially exceeded the roughly one-year life expectancy initially associated with standard treatment. The programme presented her case as an encouraging result, although it did not establish that the treatment alone accounted for her survival.

- Comparative oncology trials offer an alternative to relying exclusively on laboratory mice. Mason argued that pet dogs develop cancer naturally and live in the same environments as humans. Their clinical trials therefore allow researchers to investigate treatments against real cancers rather than artificially inducing cancer in laboratory animals.

- Veterinary cancer trials follow clinical-trial principles similar to those used in human medicine. Dogs are patients receiving treatment for naturally developing diseases, not animals deliberately given cancer for experimentation. Researchers use the results to determine which treatments are sufficiently promising to advance into human clinical trials.

- The first Listeria trial in pet dogs produced encouraging results. Researchers reported that the dogs tolerated the immunotherapy and that treatment significantly increased survival duration. The findings were submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration.

- The FDA subsequently approved a Phase II human clinical trial using modified Listeria. Approved the previous year, the trial targets children and young adults with recurrent osteosarcoma that has spread to their lungs. The treatment is being investigated in patients facing a particularly difficult prognosis after conventional treatment.

- Christie became one of the young patients receiving the experimental Listeria treatment. In August, she was undergoing her third infusion at Children's Hospital of Orange County. The treatment involved administering the modified bacteria intravenously while she received medication to make her sleepy.

- Christie experienced significant but apparently temporary side effects after her Listeria infusions. She described waking from the treatment with severe headaches and nausea, saying the effects hit her like a truck. Approximately an hour after the infusion, her symptoms became particularly uncomfortable, but her headache improved after around ten minutes and she was able to leave hospital a few hours later.

- The similarities between Sandy's and Christie's immune responses reinforced the rationale for comparative oncology. Both experienced an immune reaction following Listeria treatment. Their experiences provided researchers with an opportunity to study similar biological responses in different species.

- The National Cancer Institute is committing more than $20 million to comparative oncology research. The funding supports analysis of cancer samples collected from pet dogs across the United States and oversight of clinical trials intended to improve cancer treatments for both dogs and humans.

- Brain cancer is another major target of the comparative oncology programme. The research includes dogs with brain tumours and human patients with glioblastoma, an aggressive and nearly incurable form of brain cancer.

- A seven-year-old boxer named Otto and a 59-year-old woman named Julie were enrolled in related experimental brain-cancer trials at the University of Minnesota. Otto belonged to Dan Heffron and was diagnosed with a deadly brain tumour in 2021. Julie was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2020 and had already undergone surgery, radiation and chemotherapy before her cancer returned.

- Veterinary and human specialists collaborated to develop treatments across species. A neurosurgeon and veterinary surgeon worked together to treat and operate on Otto and other dogs with brain cancer. They shared information about treatment safety and dosing with a neuro-oncologist treating Julie and other human patients.

- Otto and Julie received virtually the same experimental treatment despite being different species. Their cases allowed researchers to investigate similar cancers using coordinated veterinary and human medical research. The collaboration also gave both patients and their families a direct connection to the wider research effort.

- Julie and Otto met for the first time in the spring, alongside Julie's husband Doug and daughter Kelly. Julie was visibly emotional about meeting a dog undergoing similar treatment. She explained that she had never imagined sharing a cancer-treatment experience with an animal.

- Otto's cancer appeared to return approximately two months after the meeting. His symptoms worsened, and his owner took him for a final swim in his favourite river before saying goodbye. Dan described Otto as his best friend and a medical pioneer whose participation had the potential to help other dogs and humans.

- Julie's condition also deteriorated, forcing her to leave the clinical trial. Inflammation in her brain had already made speaking difficult. As her symptoms worsened, she stopped participating in the experimental treatment and began spending time with her family.

- Julie regarded her participation as meaningful despite her deteriorating health. She said that helping fight cancer gave her satisfaction. She also explained that two of her own dogs had suffered from cancer, making the possibility of research benefiting both animals and humans particularly important to her.

- The experiences of Otto and Julie demonstrate that research participation can have value beyond an individual patient's outcome. Neither case produced the positive personal outcome hoped for, but the information gathered through coordinated treatment and observation could contribute to future research. Their experiences also illustrate the limitations and uncertainty of experimental cancer treatments.

- Christie's latest scan showed no detectable cancer. By the time of the programme, she had progressed into her freshman year of high school and continued receiving immunotherapy every three weeks.

- Christie's recovery has included a new companion animal. Between schoolwork and hospital treatments, she spends time with Benny, her Yorkshire terrier, whom her mother gave her. Her experience reflects the close relationship between dogs and humans that underpins the comparative oncology research programme.