Page 17 - Abstract Book ICOH4

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Veterinary Cancer Registry: History, Status and Impact

Chiara Palmieri

Abstract

Availability of baseline cancer incidence data is necessary to generate clinical and epidemiological evidence that
can better guide prevention and treatment programs as well as help drive research and development priorities.
Such information is best derived from cancer registries, which provide data on the epidemiology of cancer over
space and time. While cancer registries are commonly in place in human medicine, veterinary cancer registries have
been sporadic and short-lived. The first population-based canine tumour registry was set up by the California State
Department of Public Health o estimate cancer incidence in dogs and cats in two counties in California over a 3-
year period. Since then, other initiatives have been established but only few registries are currently active due to
the non-mandatory nature of animal cancer reporting, limited funds and challenges in enumerating the background
population. Standardised companion animal cancer registries may instead provide critical information for
evaluating the incidence and risk estimates of spontaneous tumours, at the same time being an invaluable tool for
comparative oncology studies. Variations in cancer distribution between different geographic areas may help in the
identification of environmental carcinogenic hazards and thus benefit human cancer prevention and research. This
presentation will provide an overview of the existing and former cancer registries, the limitations and challenges of
cancer registration in companion animals and future directions and international collaborations in this space.

Keywords:

THE 4 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ONE HEALTH (ICOH)
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“Strengthening Collaboration in One Health Systems”