Scientists use dogs to study diseases

A Harvard study has revealed that canines and people share many of the same genetic causes of the disease.

Tumours from nearly 700 dogs were compared to those of human patients and it was revealed that pooches have 18 mutation "hotspots" that are the likely root cause of cancer.

Comparisons with human cancer cases revealed that eight of the 'hotspots' were also present in people.

Boffins have been looking at using dogs as a way to study cancer, as they are one of the only species that humans share an environment with, and the new findings raise hope that man's best friend could be used to test potential drugs that can work on both dog and human tumours.

Christina Lopes, a co-author of the study and chief executive of One Health Company, said: "The results of this study show the incredible potential of combining cancer genomics and big data analysis to save lives on both ends of the leash."

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