Contact: Tania Banak, University Relations Specialist
608/263-6716, banakt@vetmed.wisc.edu
Date issued: November 19, 2009

An image of normal bone stained to detect the presence of beta-catenin within the cells shows very little response to the stain.

MADISON A deeper understanding of genetic abnormalities in bone cancer cells, or osteosarcoma, in dogs may yield clues that lead to improved treatment in both canine and human osteosarcoma.

That's what Dr. Timothy Stein, an assistant professor of oncology at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, hopes to accomplish with a study of spontaneously-occurring tumors in dogs.

He and his colleagues at the school's Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital are collecting samples of bone tumors from dogs as part of an NIH-funded study at the UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR). Dr. Stein then looks for differences in genes from dogs that have a higher level of an enzyme, alkaline phosphatase (ALP).

ALP has been associated with a poorer outcome in both dogs and people with osteosarcoma. If there are differences in the genes expressed between tumors from dogs with normal as opposed to elevated levels of ALP, oncologists may be able to develop a new direction for potential cancer treatments.

Dr. Stein is also looking at the role of beta-catenin, a protein important for keeping cells together as well as for cell growth and division, in osteosarcoma cases. Beta-catenin is altered in a variety of cancers, including human osteosarcoma, and may allow these cells to proliferate out of control.

"I'm trying to clarify the role of beta-catenin in osteosarcoma," Dr. Stein says. "Is it abnormally expressed? That is, is it in cells when it shouldn't be? What, if anything, does it contribute to bone cancer development?"

A cancerous bone sample treated with the same stain clearly shows the presence of beta-catenin in the cells (the beta-catenin turns brown). Dr. Timothy Stein, a veterinary oncologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, hopes to learn more about whether or how beta-catenin influences bone cancer.

The hope is that breakthroughs in these canine bone cancer studies will yield new treatments for humans as well, because dog and human bone cancers are similar.

Dr. Stein encourages animal owners to contact the school's Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital if their pet is diagnosed with cancer and they want options, especially for bone cancer.

"Often we have clinical trials available," he says. "The trials can help offset the cost of treatment, and there is the potential to help not only the animal being treated, but future animals as well."