A vaccine for cancer in dogs is in the works: check out episode 179 of Causes or Cures!

A grim statistic I learned while recording this podcast was that once a dog turns 10, there’s a 1 out of 2 chance that the dog will get cancer. That’s insanely high but not surprising to me. As a daughter of a veterinarian, I’ve certainly heard more than my share of sad stories about dogs with cancer. And I’ve lost a few of my own dogs to cancer. My dog Barnaby turns 11 in June, and I feel grateful that he is healthy. But cancers in dogs, like in humans, tend to sneak up on you. Of course, the tumors are growing…but by the time symptoms hit, the cancer is often well on its way. Eh- F Cancer, am I right?

In this episode of Causes or Cures, I chat with Dr. Mark Mamula about a vaccine for cancer in dogs that he and his team at Yale are working on. In the podcast, he explains how they created the vaccine, how it works, how they are testing it in dogs, and what is currently known about how well it works. He describes the types of cancers in dogs that the vaccine is targeting, the similarities between cancer in dogs and cancer in humans and how the vaccine could one day also be used for cancer in humans. I found that last part intriguing because there is so much happening in cancer research in terms of new treatment approaches. It’s weird to think of a world where cancer is no longer a formidable diagnosis, but we sometimes get there with diseases. I mean, HIV was a death sentence in the 1980s and now a person can live a long, happy live if on the right medications.

Dr. Mamula is a researcher and professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine. His lab focuses on cancer immunology, tumor biology and autoimmune disease. You can learn more about his work here. You can read a scientific paper on the vaccine for cancer in dogs here.

And you can listen to my podcast with him here. :)

If a vaccine for cancer in dogs is not your cup of tea, perhaps you can check out this episode on a man who was bitten by the world’s most deadliest snakes and is now turning his blood into universal antivenom.

Or check out this one on why we dream with a neuroscientist who researches dreams.

Don’t forget that all of the Causes or Cures episodes are now uploading to my Youtube channel too!

And if you get a chance to listen to the podcast, please leave a rating or a review. I hate asking for such things and I realize it’s a pain to do, but I need to get more to help the podcast grow. So if you like the podcast and it brings knowledge to your life, a review/rating would rock.

Alright guys. I’m in the middle of making spaghetti and need to get back to it. Talk soon, Eeks.