Last November tragedy unexpectedly and fatally struck one of my dachshunds who apeared vital and healthy just a few hours earlier.  We woke up to find our funny, active,  Mischief  suddenly weak and lethargic.  She went into shock as she was driven to the emergency clinic,  and within hours died  in my husband's arms.  Once again hemangiosarcoma violently struck with a volcanic splenetic rupture and a tsunami of blood swamping her internal cavities. The veterinarians were not able to stabilize Mischief though they tried so hard.  As usual with this disease, symptoms were not evident at all before the sudden fatal nightmare. This time, though,  I wanted my deceased dog's tissues to be used for research.  I had little success contacting researchers because it was a weekend, till Diane McCormick and Christine Taylor put me in touch with Van Andel Laboratories and Dr. Roe Froman.  We were able to have a necropsy performed locally by a  veterinary pathologist at the NC State Veterinary Diagnostic Center that confirmed the diagnosis. Blood and tissue samples were sent by them to Van Andel as was their report.

Shortly thereafter I was able to reach the Breen Laboratories, part of another research collaborative  that has been working with a number of breed clubs concerning hemangiosarcoma for at least eight years.  ( They authored the article I published in the DCA Newsletter of   2008.) According to their instructions  I sent Breen Laboratories  the North Carolina Veterinary Laboratory necropsy report and  also blood samples collected by my dogs' primary veterinarian from Mischief's unaffected senior relatives.

Why, after involvement in dachshunds for more than a half century  am I so concerned with just one  specific type of cancer? Because it affects mid aged dogs without warning, and because there seems to be a complex genetic factor.  In golden retrievers the disease has now reached epidemic status. Hemangiosarcoma was once thought to affect only large breeds of dogs, but unfortunately we have found that is not the case.

Dachshunds, so far, mostly standards, are being diagnosed too.  We breeders and owners may be able to help researchers find an answer and help our dogs too.

Breen Laboratories collaborate to share its samples with all three research laboratories  that are studying different aspects of the disease so materials sent will go a long way.  Breen Laboratories is going to be the sole contact for Dachshunds for these three groups.

BREEN LAB contact information:
Telephone:  919-513-1466
Fax:  919-513-7301  marked for attention of Breen Lab
E-mail; info@breenlab.org

Address:

Canine Genomics lab room 330A, CVM Research Building,

NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine,

4700 Hillsborough Street,

Raleigh NC 27606.

Who are these people anyway, and what are their credentials?

This work will be performed by Dr. Matthew Breen, Professor of Genomics at NC State and the Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research (CCMTR), and genetics researcher at the University of North Carolina's Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center; In addition to his activities at NCSU, Dr. Breen was a founder member and now serves on the Board of Directors of the Canine Comparative Oncology and Genomics Consortium Inc. The CCOGC is a national organization that serves to gather tumor tissues that may be used for the advancement of canine (and human) cancer research. He also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Morris Animal Foundation and the National Canine Cancer Foundation.

Also:  Dr. Jaime Modiano, Professor of Oncology and Comparative Medicine with the University of Minnesota's College of Veterinary Medicine and Masonic Cancer Center;  His research program has had uninterrupted support from federal and private sources for 16 years, leading to co-authorship of more than 50 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts, and ~200 abstracts, presentations, and book chapters focused on various aspects of immunology, cancer cell biology, the genetic basis of cancer and applications of gene therapy;

And Dr. Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, Director of the Vertebrate Genome Biology Program at the Broad Institute,  a Professor of Comparative Genomics at Uppsala University in Sweden. Kerstin Lindblad-To is a professor in comparative genomics at Uppsala University and the Scientific Director of Vertebrate Genome Biology at the Broad Institute. At the Broad Institute Kerstin is responsible for the Mammalian Genome Project to annotate the human genome for functional constraint as well as for a large number of vertebrate genome projects several of which emphasize the detection of selective sweeps. She also leads the dog disease-mapping group. Her group has developed several SNP chip that has been used to identify several canine disease genes.

Why request Dachshund samples?

It is not only golden retrievers that exhibit a higher level of predisposition to this cancer than the general domestic dog population. Other breeds are also affected by hemangiosarcoma.  In recognition Breen lab has been requesting samples from other breeds too.  These include Australian shepherds, German shepherd dogs, flat-coated retrievers and briards.

Recently it was brought to the  attention  of Breen Laboratories that there may be an increasing incidence within the dachshund population and so they have added the dachshund to the breeds studied.

As with all of their cancer samples they aim to make the process of submitting samples, at a distressing time for the owner, a relatively simple process.  With the help of liaison people from the Health committees of the parent breed clubs, they  now have a significant sample population that allows them to study this cancer in more detail.

They are of course immensely grateful to the owners, breeders, veterinarians and liaison folks without whom this would not be possible. In the Breen lab there is a dedicated member of staff whose role is to facilitate the process and ensure that it happens in as seamless a manner as is possible.  Every case is treated with care and confidentiality.

Lisa Warren of DCA's Health and Welfare Trust Fund has received permission from the Board for the fund to reimburse shipping costs for samples sent to Breen Laboratories. Van Andel's grant will presently pay for shipping costs for samples sent to them.

Samples are small, and can be sent to both organizations easily.  I have gladly consented to be the liaison between Breen and DCA so can inform potential donors of requirements  to send them  affected dog tissue and blood samples, and non affected dog blood samples.

Having personally experienced this with my own dogs I am available to anyone who wants to just talk to someone who understands.

Barbara Axel