Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Blood test measuring cell-free DNA in dogs to help cancer prognosis
By Virginia, Sánchez et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2026·Complutense Veterinary Teaching Hospital and Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Spain·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: OncoCan: a liquid biopsy assay for cell-free DNA quantification in canine plasma to support cancer prognosis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at a new blood test called OncoCan that measures cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in dogs to help detect cancer early. Researchers tested samples from 83 dogs with different types of tumors and found that those with cancer had significantly higher levels of cfDNA compared to healthy dogs. The test showed high accuracy for certain blood cancers and moderate accuracy for other types of tumors. OncoCan could help veterinarians determine how aggressive a cancer is and predict survival outcomes, making it a promising tool for cancer diagnosis and prognosis in dogs. Further testing with more dogs is needed before it becomes a standard practice.
People also search for: dog cancer blood test · OncoCan for dogs · early cancer detection in dogs · dog tumor prognosis test
Abstract
Early cancer detection remains a major challenge in veterinary medicine. Cell-free DNA (cfDNA), released into the bloodstream through apoptosis, necrosis, or circulating tumor cells, can be quantified non-invasively via liquid biopsy and is already established in human oncology. In this study, we evaluated OncoCan, a targeted plasma cfDNA assay, by analyzing samples from 83 dogs with various neoplasms and 47 healthy controls to assess diagnostic and prognostic utility. Wilcoxon rank-sum testing revealed significantly higher cfDNA concentrations in neoplastic versus healthy samples ( = 4.45e-07). ROC curve analysis demonstrated high accuracy for lymphomas/leukemias (AUC = 0.95) and moderate accuracy for carcinomas (AUC = 0.75), sarcomas (AUC = 0.76), and melanomas (AUC = 0.69). Stratification by histological grade and clinical stage further supported cfDNA's predictive capability. Three practical thresholds were established: <50 pg/μL to distinguish healthy from neoplastic cases; ≥100 pg/μL as a "high positive" threshold indicating aggressive disease; and ≥300 pg/μL as a "very high positive" threshold strongly associated with systemic dissemination, high-grade histology, and poor survival. The <50 pg/μL cut-off showed robust diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.808, sensitivity = 82%, specificity = 73%), confirmed by survival analysis and hazard ratio modeling. These findings suggest that OncoCan provides a noninvasive, clinically applicable tool for cancer prognosis in dogs. Validation in larger cohorts is warranted to support its integration into routine veterinary oncology practice.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41810409/